Disenchanted
by xxxemmzxxx
Summary: Please read authors note inside. Tony swore he would never have anything to do with vampires; what happens when he is chosen to be mated to one of them? Note: This is not related to my other fic, 'Undisclosed Desires'. Slash - Gibbs/DiNozzo.
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: This story is based off a prompt I received from someone after they read Undisclosed Desires. The prompt asked for Gibbs to be a dominant vampire and to be mated to Tony - Gibbs didn't have a choice in who he was mated to; Tony was to be chosen for him. This fic will pretty much deal with Tony having to learn to be Gibbs' mate and his submissive. This fic does not relate to undisclosed desires, except for the idea of dominant and submissive vampires, i.e. it is not a sequel. Hope you all enjoy :]

I would also like to thank Finlaure for her amazing Beta work!

* * *

Tony tried to quell his breathing as he ran through the darkened streets. Sweat dripped down his face and he swiped it away with a shaking hand. Tony couldn't remember a time when he wasn't running. The first memory he had was driving with his parents, his mother screaming at his father to hurry up before _they_ caught them. They hadn't been caught that time, but they were eventually. Everyone got caught eventually. Tony hadn't known who _they_ were back then, but he did now. _They_ were the vampires that had appeared from nowhere, faster than anyone could have predicted. Tony didn't remember a time when they hadn't existed. He'd read about it of course; he'd read about times where vampires were nothing but myths and people who believed in them were ridiculed.

'Bet they wished they hadn't ridiculed them now,' Tony thought to himself as he darted down the alley. Of course, listening wouldn't have made that much difference. The information surrounding vampires back then had been all wrong, aside from drinking human blood. The vampires had no weaknesses: they weren't affected by sunlight, and garlic and holy water just made them laugh. No one who believed in vampires had ever really thought of them as beings that would live in a community; vampires had always been thought of as solitary creatures. That notion was completely wrong. The vampires hadn't been solitary, they had been waiting. And when the time had been right they'd attacked.

Tony was forever grateful that he hadn't been born during those first years. It had just been pure bloodshed. The vampires became drunk on the power they possessed over the humans, and any semblance of community or rules was lost. They had killed, maimed and tortured without a second thought. There was no documentation of how many human lives had been lost; there were simply too many to count. But eventually the vampire community had re-established itself, and the seemingly random killing had ended. But something worse had taken its place.

Vampires weren't stupid; Tony knew that for a fact. They knew that if they continued killing and drinking without thought then eventually their supply would run out. So instead they farmed. They didn't kill humans; they just used them until they served their purpose. Vampires harvested the blood and distributed it. Tony thought that vampires loved the hunt _and _the kill, but apparently they could do without the killing. They just wanted the blood. Well, the blood and something else.

That was what Tony was avoiding so desperately. He didn't care about dying, hell he could even deal with being used as a blood source. But Tony wasn't stupid, and he knew what he looked like. No vampire in their right mind would kill him on the spot. And even if he were captured and used for blood Tony knew that sooner or later he would catch some vampire's eye. And he refused to be sold off as some sort of sex slave.

Tony had seen humans who willingly worked with the vampires, who offered their blood and their services, be it their bodies or knowledge. Very rarely did vampires mate with humans. Vampires had a very specific set of relationship guidelines, ones which humans very rarely conformed to. Vampires were either dominant or submissive, and they didn't choose their mates; the council did it for them. Tony had no idea why that was, but he didn't agree with it. People shouldn't be forced to mate with someone for life, they should be able to choose based on their own feelings and not purely on their role in the bedroom.

Personally Tony didn't understand the mechanisms of dominants and submissives. He didn't understand how someone could give up such compete control and have such complete trust in one person, and he sure as hell didn't understand how one person could control another person, and dictate everything about them. He'd seen vampire couples, seen how obediently the submissives looked up at the dominants.

Tony knew that vampires weren't allowed to kill humans now; if they did then they were destroyed, but that didn't stop some from trying. It sure as hell hadn't stopped his parents from being murdered.

Tony fought down the nausea that arose whenever he thought of what had happened when vampires had eventually caught up with his family. It wouldn't do him any good to dwell on that now, they'd given their lives for him and getting killed would meant that they had died in vain.

Tony froze when he heard voices ahead. 'Shit', he thought, 'Not good.' Very rarely did he run into humans at night; most were either already under the vampires command, or were holed up in a safe house somewhere. That's where Tony was trying to go only he didn't know where the hell these safe houses were. It's not like they'd last for long anyway, no human could fight against vampires. The thing about vampires was that they had extremely heightened senses which meant that they could see and hear humans with a practiced ease. That also meant that he was pretty much screwed.

He pressed himself against the wall and hoped like hell that they couldn't be bothered to go after him. Tony tried to calm his breathing even though he knew it wouldn't do any good. Fuck, he really had hoped he wouldn't run into any vampires. He'd done well to last as long as he had, though he had had several altercations with vampires, and had the scars to prove it.

Tony didn't know how long he was pressed up against the wall, but eventually the voices faded and he felt his heart rate slow back down. Slowly he eased himself away from the wall and took a few hesitant steps forward. When nothing happened Tony breathed out slowly and began to continue forward. He'd barely made it a meter when he was slammed up against the wall, the breath being forced from his body. Tony struggled, but the arm across his throat remained firm.

"What's a pretty boy like you doing wandering the streets hmm?"

Tony could barely get enough air in his throat to breathe let alone answer, so he settled for giving his best glare. It obviously didn't do much because the vampire just laughed at him and released the hold on his neck.

"You've got guts kid," the vampire said, before throwing a grin over his shoulder. "Hey, Jake, what should we do with this one?"

Jake walked forward and Tony could see his eyes roaming his body. He already knew exactly where Jake would want to send him.

"I know where we _should _send him," Jake said with a leer. "But no one's gonna know if we don't take him there."

The other vampire looked dubious. "I don't know. He's good looking; he'd go for a good price."

Jake laughed. "Come on, Sam; don't tell me you don't want him."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Of course I want him," he said as he rolled his hips, pressing into Tony. "I'm just saying that he's worth a lot."

Tony felt like ice was flowing through his veins. This was what he was shit scared of; he didn't want to die out in some back street alley on his knees. He grasped Sam's arm and tried to shove it away but it didn't even move.

Sam laughed. "Don't bother kid, you're gonna need your energy where you're going."

"I'm not a kid!" Tony spat out, struggling. "And I'm not going anywhere."

Jake snorted. "Oh yes you are."

"Come on, Jake, let's just hand him in. We'll get a good deal for him," Sam said removing his arm.

As soon as Tony felt Sam's arm drop he bolted. Of course he didn't get far, he blacked out as his head was smashed against the ground.

* * *

When he woke, Tony had no idea where he was. He was alone in an empty room with nothing but a blanket and what felt like a concussion. Groaning, he sat up and swiped a hand across his forehead grimacing when it came away wet.

"Great," he whispered to himself, "Just great. Vampire sex toy here I come."

Hopefully he could just piss someone off enough to get himself killed. That would be better than what was coming. Tony tried to pull himself up into a standing position, but his head started pounding and the room started spinning. Sighing he slumped down against the wall and rested his head on his knees. He fought down the nausea, and tried to slow his breathing, but he wasn't being terribly successful. Tony didn't know why he was still trying; he knew what was going to happen. It was over, there was no point fighting. He had always known that he wouldn't be able to run forever, but that hadn't stopped him from hoping.

He froze when he heard the door to his room open. Tony didn't want to look up, so he kept his head down and tried to block them out.

"Hey, kid, look up will ya? I gotta look you over before we send you out?"

Tony shook his head. "Go away."

He heard a snort. "Can't do that, sorry."

Then Tony felt his head being pulled up and a light being flashed into his eyes. He grunted and tried to pull back, but the hand held his head firmly in position.

"Don't move it'll just make it hurt more."

"Don't care," Tony mumbled letting his eyes fall shut.

"You've got a concussion, but as long as we clean the blood off your face you'll be fine to go out."

"Lucky me," Tony said sarcastically, wincing as a damp cloth dabbed at his forehead.

"It's not that bad, kid. It's better than being dead, though if they'd cracked your head any harder you could have been rotting in the streets."

"Depends on who you ask," Tony murmured. He knew which he'd prefer. "What do you do anyway? Go around cleaning up future sex slaves."

"No," the vampire said with a laugh. "I'm a doctor."

"Didn't think vampires were doctors," Tony said forcing his eyes open. "Seems a bit stupid when you kill people to stay alive."

The vampire frowned. "Not all of us kill you know. I've been married to my _human _wife for twenty years. She gives me what I need, and I would _never _hurt her."

Tony frowned. "Well you're a minority then. All the vampires I've met haven't seemed like the settling down type. What's your name anyway?"

"Damien. And there's more like me than you think, and a lot of us don't like how humans are being treated."

"Then why doesn't anyone do anything?" Tony asked desperately. Ordinarily he would have cared about the fear that was evident in his voice, but right now he just couldn't. He was too scared to care. "I know you can't kill us, but _farming _us is worse. And now I'm being sold at some auction to be someone's personal _toy_," Tony spat out, "How is that right?"

Damien looked awkward for a second. "Well you're not exactly being sold at an auction," he started. "You've already been chosen for someone."

"What do you mean chosen?" Tony asked suspiciously.

Damien shrugged while searching around in his bag. "You know what I mean," he said awkwardly.

"Someone's mate," Tony said stonily. "Great."

"At least you're not being paraded in front of a bunch of dominant vampires," Damien supplied helpfully.

"Thanks so much," Tony snapped. "Don't suppose you can just let me go?"

Damien laughed. "No, you know I can't do that. As much as I dislike some of our laws, I still follow them. I may be a vampire, but my wife is human. I'm not about to risk her for anyone, no matter how cute they are," Damien added with a grin.

"Didn't think so," Tony sighed. "Do you know where I'm being shipped off to?"

Damien nodded. "I do. And believe me you could have done a lot worse. This guy's decent."

"I find that hard to believe," Tony muttered.

"Hey," Damien said sharply. "He's a friend of mine, and I know for a fact that he hates how some of us treat humans as much as I do. He only drinks from the willing, and they are very well compensated for allowing him that."

"I don't care," Tony said sullenly. "You don't have to be mated to some man that you've never met. What if I don't swing that way?"

Damien grinned. "If you don't now, by the time he's through with you, you will be."

"That's not reassuring for someone who's supposedly straight," Tony shot back.

"But you're not straight," Damien said with a grin, "Here take these." He moved closer and handed over a couple of pills.

Tony flinched when Damien's hand shot out. "Sorry," he said as he grabbed the pills. "Haven't exactly had good experiences with vampires. What makes you think I'm not straight?" Tony asked suspiciously.

Damien nodded. "I don't blame you, but keep in mind we're not all like that. And it's fairly obvious to me you're not straight – you're not gay, but definitely not straight."

Tony shook his head. "How do you know my orientation when _I _don't even know my orientation?" Tony sighed as he thought about what Damien had said about vampires, "I can't go around thinking all vampires are like you. I've kept myself alive by avoiding vampires, I'm not about to start trusting any, present company included. Sorry, but I've had enough bad experiences to last a lifetime."

Damien sighed, "Well hopefully he can get you to change your mind. And for the record, vampires are _very _good at picking up orientation. They wouldn't have mated you with a man if they weren't sure that you would go for it eventually."

Tony snorted, "I doubt it."

Damien nodded and stood. "Well good luck," he said offering his hand.

Tony eyed it warily. He didn't want to start making friends with vampires, as far as he was concerned they were two faced bastards who would turn their back on him in a second if given the opportunity, and he wasn't about to give it to them. That being said he also knew that now he was among them, he most likely wasn't going to be able to get out, so making enemies probably wouldn't be helpful to his situation. Vampires may not be _allowed_ to kill people, but that didn't mean it didn't happen, and as far as he was aware there weren't any laws regarding torture, especially where mates were concerned. Tony might have preferred death to being mated to some dominant vampire, but he sure as hell didn't want to be tortured. Reluctantly he grasped the vampire's hand.

"I hope you're right about him," Tony said softly. "What's his name?"

"Leroy Jethro Gibbs," Damien said firmly, "And I am. He might be a bastard, but he's not cruel. He's the best a kid with your looks could get. There were several powerful vampires that were interested in you, and they won't look after you like Leroy will. They'll just take your submission, regardless of whether you want to give it."

"Submission," Tony stated. "He's going to want me to submit to him? Like whips and chains?"

Damien nodded. "Yes, he will. That's who we are, it's how we live. But he won't throw you into the deep end. He'll give you time. Take comfort in that, it's a hell of a lot more than you'd get from anyone else."

Right now Tony didn't give a shit about what _might_ have happened he gave a shit about what was _going _to happen. And what was going to happen was him having to have sex with a male vampire, as well as having to submit and play kinky sex games with said vampire.

"I'm not feeling very comforted," Tony said weakly.

"He won't rape you," Damien said firmly. "He won't take what you're not willing to give."

"What happens if I'm never ready to give that?" Tony asked quietly. He didn't believe there was any way that he would _willingly_ submit to a vampire.

"That's not an option," Damien said shrugging. "But don't think of it as a foregone conclusion. Think of it as something new you're trying. It'll help."

Tony sighed and let his head fall back against the wall. "So there goes any chance of love and a family and all that crap," he muttered, "Not that there was much hope of that happening anyway."

"My wife was chosen for me," Damien commented mildly, "And I love her, and I don't doubt that she loves me."

"Well at least they chose you someone who was the right sex," Tony shot back; "I have to become gay."

Damien snorted. "Alright, well good luck with that."

Tony sighed and watched as Damien left. His first actual non violent conversation with a vampire had gone differently that he'd thought. During the conversation Tony had almost forgotten several times that Damien was a vampire until he'd been forcefully reminded when he'd seen Damien's teeth. He still wasn't convinced about this Gibbs person; right now he would stick to believing that Damien was the exception to vampires. He wasn't stupid enough to let his guard down around any other vampires yet, hell he'd hardly let it down around Damien. All he'd done was ask a few questions, but that was more than he had done with any other vampire. Though most other vampires hadn't given him the chance, they'd mostly been like Jake and Sam, and attacked. Tony had been inordinately lucky with his previous altercations with vampires; he hadn't been alone for one, and humans could take down a vampire if there were enough of them and they knew what they were doing. Unfortunately his group didn't last forever, and one by one they were taken or killed, until only Tony was left.

Tony had been reluctant to form any attachments after that; it just hurt too much when they were ripped away from him. It was easier to just be alone.

* * *

Tony fell asleep shortly after Damien left, and the groggy feeling that arose when woke up made him suspect that it wasn't just pain killers that Damien had given him. Annoyed as he was, Tony could help but be grateful for the rest. Concussion aside, he was feeling more rested than he had in years.

The well rested feeling was quickly replaced by nerves when Tony remembered where he was going. Being sent off to be bonded to some vampire who he had never met. Though meeting him probably wouldn't have done much to alleviate his fear. Either way he was still going have to have sex with a vampire and the thought of that made Tony feel sick. Vampires had murdered his parents in cold blood; they hadn't given a shit about their laws or punishments. They had murdered them anyway, and as far as Tony was concerned all vampires were the same. They'd follow the rules as long as they suited them, but as long as there was something that didn't suit them they'd break them.

Tony started as the door to his room opened again. 'Here we go,' Tony thought to himself as two vampires walked in. These two were definitely not going to be like Damien. Tony could tell that already from the looks on their faces.

Warily he eyed them hoping that they weren't going try anything.

"We can't just ship this one off," one exclaimed, "Look at him."

The dark haired vampire turned around and eyed Tony critically. "No, we won't send him off. Take him with the others to the auction. He'll get sold in a second."

"I'm not a piece of meat," Tony exclaimed heatedly. "And someone's already got me."

"You hear that Don," the dark haired vampire said with a chuckle, "This boy here thinks he's not a piece of meat. And for the record," he said turning back to Tony, "I don't really give a fuck if someone's already bought you – they shouldn't have been stupid enough to leave you here with us."

The vampire, who Tony assumed to be Don, grinned. "Is that so, boy? Well here's some news for you; as far as we're concerned you are, and you're gonna get us a fair bit of money. So you better get your pretty little head around that."

Tony spat in the vampires face. "Fuck you."

Don grimaced and wiped the saliva from his face. "You know, maybe we ought to test you out. We wouldn't want to give any of the higher ups some unworthy _meat",_ he said in a low growl.

The dark haired vampire laughed. "He's riling you up, Don. He'd rather we kill him than send him off to be sold."

Don quirked his head. "You think, Jack? 'Cause he's a pretty boy," he said his voice dropping an octave. "I bet we could have a lot of fun with this one."

"This kind of boy is exactly the kind that people pay a lot of money for," Jack said with a grin. "He'll get what's coming to him. I'm not gonna risk my job for a piece of ass, no matter how pretty it is."

Tony struggled as Jack ran an appreciative eye down his body. "Fuck off," he snarled.

Jack just laughed. "Load him up, Don."

"You have _no _idea what's in store for you," Don whispered in Tony's ear. Tony shivered at the lack of breath, a vivid reminder that these people weren't even alive.

"Anything would be better than staring at your ugly face," Tony said grinning. If they wouldn't touch him, then he might as well get in as much insults as he could. He didn't know where they were planning on taking him, Tony hadn't heard of these auctions before. He was aware humans were sometimes mated to vampires, but that process wasn't conducted via an auction. These vampires didn't seem like the kind to follow by any laws, so this _auction _they were talking about couldn't be any good. "I feel sorry for you, you know? At least if I was as ugly as you, I'd know I wouldn't be forcing people to suffer for all eternity. You could so the rest of us a favor and stake yourself," Tony suggested.

He felt Don's grip tighten around his neck. "I'd shut your mouth if I were you, boy."

"I really hope that isn't my _mate _you're about to strangle, Don?" A voice questioned mildly. "But I am quite interested in hearing where you were planning on selling him?"

Tony was relieved to feel Don's hands slip from his throat. "I'm not anybody's mate," Tony couldn't help spitting out. "But yeah, I want to know where they were going to send me?"

Don ignored him and faced the newly arrived vampire. "No, Sir," he stammered, "Well I was, but I didn't know he was yours. Honest."

The vampire who Tony assumed to be Gibbs scowled. "You shouldn't be strangling anyone, and you sure as hell shouldn't be selling anyone regardless of who they belong to. In case you weren't aware that's illegal. Now if I were you I would leave before you get yourself in more trouble than you already are."

Tony grinned at Don as he grimaced and flashed a glare at him. "Bye," Tony said waving his hand merrily, "You should think about what I said about doing everyone a favor." Tony mimicked staking himself through the heart. Don looked like he was about to try and wrap his hands around Tony's throat again, but a quick look at Gibbs nipped that idea in the bud. Don scowled and walked out of the room leaving Gibbs and Tony alone.

"It's not normally the best idea to wind up vampires like Don," Gibbs commented mildly.

"I don't really care what the _best _idea is," Tony said angrily. "He was an asshole."

Gibbs snorted. "Yeah, he is, but he won't be working here much longer."

"And why's that?" Tony asked. "Seemed like he was pretty good at his job."

Gibbs' eyes narrowed. "Almost strangling you isn't part of his job description."

"Could have fooled me," Tony muttered.

Tony took the opportunity to look over Gibbs. He had to admit if he was going to have to be getting it on with Gibbs; at least the vampire was good looking. Gibbs was definitely older than him when he was turned, but he was still in good shape.

Gibbs stared at him and it felt like he was looking right through him. "Can you stop staring at me like that?" Tony asked angrily. He already hated this; he didn't want to be on display for some vampire.

Gibbs shrugged and turned on his heel. "Come on," he ordered over his shoulder. "I'm sure you don't want to be stuck in this place any longer."

Tony hesitated. He might hate this place, but at least it was known to him. Ignoring Damien, the vampires that worked here treated him like shit and he was used to that. Tony wasn't really keen on the idea of venturing off into the unknown with Gibbs.

"That wasn't a request, DiNozzo," Gibbs said standing from the doorway.

Tony had never taken well to being ordered around. "Maybe I'd rather stay here," Tony spat out. "I don't want to be anyone's mate."

"Too bad," Gibbs said smoothly, but Tony could see the spark of anger that rose in his eyes. "I don't have a choice who I mate with, and unfortunately for both of us the powers that be decided that you'd be perfect for me."

"Well I don't give a shit about your powers that be," Tony said with a sneer. "I'm not a vampire."

Suddenly Gibbs was right up in his face. "Believe me, I am _very _much aware that you're not a vampire, and you should be damn grateful that I haven't already exploited that fact."

Tony froze. He had been in sticky situations with vampires before, but none like this. He'd never been in such close proximity to a vampire that radiated such dominance and power. But Tony wasn't about to let himself show any fear to Gibbs, so he kept his gaze fixed on Gibbs and steeled himself.

"Well maybe you should have, because I'm not about to cooperate in your kinds stupid mating rituals," Tony said angrily.

To his surprise Gibbs laughed. "I don't care how much you aggravate me, DiNozzo; I'm not going to attack you. But I will drag you out of here kicking and screaming and you will lose whatever dignity you have left."

Tony grimaced. Gibbs was right, he could drag him out kicking and screaming and Tony would look like an idiot. On the other hand, if he walked out with Gibbs then at least he would be leaving with some semblance of dignity. Dammit, Tony hated these stupid logical vampires. He was starting to prefer the aggressive vampires that wanted to kill or fuck him. At least then he could just hate them in peace.

Tony sighed and reluctantly nodded. Gibbs turned and walked of the room, Tony shortly on his heel. Tony didn't know much of the rules that submissives worked by but he knew that they always walked behind their dominant. For now, Tony decided he would follow that rule; he wasn't keen on being publically humiliated in front of everyone here.

He couldn't help but smirk when he walked past Don and Jake and saw their answering glares. At least he had successfully managed to piss them off.

"You get a kick out of pissing of vampires?" Gibbs asked as they walked over to a charger parked on the side of the road.

Tony stopped in front of the car. Most vampires didn't bother with cars; they just ran. On the off chance that they did own a car it sure as hell wasn't a classic like this one.

"This is your car?" Tony blurted out running his hands over the side. "Why?"

Gibbs laughed. "I may be a vampire, but that doesn't stop me appreciating cars like this."

"But you don't need it," Tony said glancing up at Gibbs.

"I know." Gibbs shrugged. "But I want it."

Tony couldn't argue with that, and he opened the door to the back and climbed in.

"You can sit in the front," Gibbs commented.

"I think I'd rather sit here," Tony said firmly. Definitely safer in the back seat where his neck was not in close proximity to Gibbs' fangs.

"I already said I wouldn't bite you," Gibbs said as he started the car.

"Forgive me if I'm not overly trusting of vampires," Tony snapped.

"I don't know what they were thinking," Gibbs muttered. "Perfect match my arse."

"That makes two of us," Tony shot back. "Maybe you could just drop me off here and save the two of us a lot of trouble."

Gibbs shook his head with a grin. "Nope, if I drop you off here you'd be snapped up in a second. I'm not the only vampire you'd get paired to."

"Why?" Tony asked before he could stop himself.

"I can't explain it now, you wouldn't believe me," Gibbs said glancing at him in the rear view mirror. "I will one day, but not now. You're freaked out enough as it is."

"I am not _freaked out_," Tony exclaimed.

"Yeah you are," Gibbs said and Tony could hear the amusement in his voice, which only served to make him more infuriated with the vampire. "You're just good at not showing it."

"Whatever," Tony said folding his arms. He didn't want to engage in any more conversations with vampires tonight. He'd had enough of them to last him a lifetime. Of course now he was stuck with Gibbs so conversations with vampires were going to become an everyday occurrence. So would sex with a vampire. And being whipped by a vampire. And being handcuffed by a vampire.

The thought of all that made Tony's stomach drop. He didn't think he could survive this; he didn't want to survive it. He didn't want to be like those submissive humans who he had watched from a distance. They might say that they loved their partner and that they willingly partook in any games they played but Tony knew better. They just had some fucked up version of Stockholm's syndrome, and Tony would be damned if he ended up like them. No way, Tony was going to make damn sure that no matter how long he was stuck with Gibbs he would always remember that he was being forced. There was no way that he was ever going to want this.

* * *

Let me know what you think :] I'm aiming to post a chapter a week, but you never know around the holidays!

Thanks.


	2. Chapter 2

Tony glanced out the window in surprise when he saw where Gibbs pulled in. He was expecting something a little more modern considering the car the vampire drove. Instead they pulled into the garage of an old but large house at the end of a suburban street.

"Do many vampires live here?" Tony couldn't help asking. It didn't seem like an area most vampires would inhabit.

Gibbs nodded. "A few, but there's mostly human families."

"Human families," Tony repeated. "And you just let them live here?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Gibbs asked as they walked up to the front door. "They're not affecting me."

"Well humans never did anything to any vampires but that didn't stop what happened when you took over," Tony said harshly.

Gibbs turned to look at him. "I'm not about to make any excuses for what happened when we took over. But most vampires weren't involved in that – they were more focused in trying to restore some order. We didn't want to see humans killed the way they were."

"Seemed like an awful lot of deaths for most of the vampire community to not be involved," Tony said skeptically.

"Don't need a lot of vampires to do a lot of damage" Gibbs said walking into the house.

"You don't lock your door?" Tony asked surprised.

"Do you think I need to?" Gibbs retorted with a raised eyebrow.

Tony shrugged. "Just seems like you're asking for trouble."

"Haven't had any trouble before," Gibbs said with a shrug closing the door behind them.

Tony shivered as the door shut; it felt too much like he was now trapped inside the house. He steeled himself waiting for Gibbs' next move.

"Hungry?" Gibbs asked throwing his coat over the hook in the hall. "You probably haven't had proper food in a while."

Tony probably should have felt hungry but he was too nervous, however he nodded anyway. Hopefully his eating would buy him some more time to figure out how he was going to cope. He reluctantly followed Gibbs through the house until they reached the kitchen.

"Why is the house so big?" Tony asked staying by the kitchen door. "Bit over the top for one person."

"I'm not the only person who lives here," Gibbs said simply grabbing a large pot from the shelf.

Tony paused. "Who else lives here?"

Tony didn't think he would be able to sleep at all if there was more than one vampire living under the same roof as him. Hell, right now he wasn't even sure if he would be able to sleep living with Gibbs. Who the fuck knew what was going to happen when he had to start sleeping with Gibbs. But not going there, Tony thought to himself, that train of thought would only lead to panic.

"Just two others," Gibbs said, "Both human."

"They your dinner," Tony said without thinking, and then winced. Pissing off Gibbs really wasn't the best idea, but he couldn't seem to stop himself.

Gibbs didn't turn around, and instead chose to keep making whatever it was he had decided to give Tony for dinner. "Yup," he said, "But I don't feed from them directly."

Tony wanted to know why, but from Gibbs posture it didn't seem like a good topic of conversation and so Tony chose to remain silent. Eventually Gibbs placed a steaming bowl of pasta on the table and indicated for Tony to sit.

"Not going to make me sit at your feet," Tony muttered as he walked past.

"I will if you don't learn to shut up," Gibbs said mildly.

Tony winced and sat down before slowly picking up his fork.

"It's not poisoned," Gibbs stated as he watched Tony twirl the fork between his fingers. "If I was going to kill you, there would be much easier ways."

"That makes me feel so much better," Tony snapped glaring at the vampire. God, he hated this. Hated having to sit here and try and eat his first proper meal in what felt like forever across from a vampire.

"You're making me feel like the Beast here," Gibbs said with a smirk.

Tony refused to look at him and settled for stabbing his fork into his food. "What?"

"From the movie," Gibbs offered, and Tony could still feel the vampires gaze on him.

"What movie?" Tony reluctantly asked, still refusing to meet Gibbs' gaze.

Gibbs sighed. "Beauty and the Beast; the Disney movie."

"Vampires don't strike me as the type to sit around and watch Disney movies," Tony snapped, and was surprised by the look of raw hurt that was written across the vampire's face.

"I wasn't," Gibbs said."But my daughter loved them, that one in particular."

Tony refused to be apologetic, no matter how bad he felt at bringing up an obviously sensitive topic. He needed to stop thinking about Gibbs as a person, and start remembering who he really was. A vampire.

"Well, I didn't really have a lot of time for children's movies when I was a kid," Tony said bitterly.

"Why not?" Gibbs asked, and Tony was surprised by the genuine curiosity in his voice. Of course, that only served to piss him off.

"Because my parents were too busy stowing me away in the trunk of the car while they tried to avoid getting captured by you lot," Tony snarled.

Gibbs fell silent, but Tony still felt those piercing blue eyes on his skin.

"I take it they weren't successful," Gibbs murmured.

"No shit," Tony said angrily. "Now if you don't mind I'd like to go to sleep now. Not that you'd know anything about that."

Tony chose to ignore that flash of pain that crossed Gibbs' face, and the thought that yeah, Gibbs probably did know about sleeping considering he had a daughter. Tony knew enough about vampires to know that they didn't have children, unless with a human, and should that occur, the child would never be a vampire.

"Alright," Gibbs acquiesced, "I'll show you to your room."

"I can find my own way," Tony said stiffly.

Gibbs' eyes narrowed. "That wasn't a request, DiNozzo. I know damn well what you think of us, you've made your point. But you'd do well to remember that not all of us condone the random killing of humans."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well those of you who don't still find it okay to take us your _slaves,_ so forgive me if I'm not feeling too pleased with your kind right now."

Gibbs gave a dark smile. "You're right. You'd also do well to remember that right now you have your own room, and your privacy." Gibbs gave a meaningful glance at Tony's still clothed body. "I could easily have you chained up at the foot of my bed."

Tony stepped back and his hands curled into fists. Gibbs could damn well do what he liked, but Tony sure as fuck wasn't going to make it easy for him.

Gibbs snorted, "You really think you could fight me off?"

"I could try," Tony said defiantly, "At the very least I'd bite you hard enough to hurt."

To Tony's surprise Gibbs gave a crooked grin. "I knew someone once who threatened me with that exact thing." The smile slipped from Gibbs' face. "But for the record, I don't force myself on people who aren't willing; human or vampire."

"Then let me go," Tony said, for the moment not caring how plaintive he sounded.

"I can't," Gibbs said softly, his fangs gleaming as they caught the light.

"Why?" Tony asked angrily. "You're not taking my blood; you're not fucking me, so why keep me?"

"Do you know what will happen if I let you go?" Gibbs asked his voice low and dangerous. "You'll get snapped up before you realize that_ here _is your best chance of survival."

"I've survived just fine on my own for the past ten years," Tony said stiffly. "I'll manage."

"You survived because people didn't know you existed," Gibbs said, "Believe me, I am not the only vampire whose eye you caught tonight. However, I am the only vampire who won't be, as you so delicately put it, fucking you without your permission."

"Why not?" Tony shouted, "You've made it clear that you could, so why aren't you. And don't give me some shit about caring about how I feel, 'cause I know that would be a crock of shit. You and your kind don't care about anyone other than yourselves."

Gibbs' eyes darkened and he took a step forward before stopping. "You can find your own way to your room," Gibbs hissed and spun and walked out of the room.

Tony wished he felt elated at getting what would probably be his only win over the vampire, but he didn't. All he could see was the hurt look on Gibbs' face that had arisen at his words.

After Gibbs had left, exhaustion had overcome Tony and he simply could not find the energy required to find his room. He just wanted to hide away from everything, so he walked down as many corridors as he could until he found a small bathroom. Tony curled up in the corner, steadily ignoring the cold, and closed the door and hoped like hell that he would be left in peace.

Tony was surprised when he awoke after a dreamless sleep. After the things he had seen in his short lifetime, it wasn't surprising that nightmares plagued him, but Tony never seemed to be able to get used to them. Though, he was constantly running so he never really had time for anything longer than a quick nap. Tony was so used to the exhaustion that he carried it around with him; he barely remembered what it was like to be well rested. Even now, after sleeping for god knows how long, Tony still felt like he could sleep for another eight hours. Yawning, Tony stretched and flicked at the switch on the wall, flooding the small room with light. He wasn't surprised to see the bathroom was mostly empty, just a toilet and a sink.

"I'll probably die of boredom before I die of hunger," Tony muttered.

'It's a good thing I'm not claustrophobic', Tony thought as he eyed the slanted ceiling. He hadn't realized how small the bathroom was when he crawled into it. Even though he knew he could leave, Tony was reluctant to exit the small room. Somehow, it seemed to be the safest place in the house.

Tony jumped when someone banged at the door. He pressed his back against the wall, and prepared himself to run as soon as the door opened, even though running would do him no good.

"There's breakfast if you want some," Gibbs called.

Tony didn't answer. He refused to sit across the table from someone who drank people's _blood_ to stay alive.

"Or you can starve, it's up to you," Gibbs said, and Tony could hear the underlying annoyance in his voice.

"I'm not hungry," Tony muttered, even though his stomach rumbled at the thought of proper food. It had been _weeks_ since he'd had a proper meal. Tony didn't think that he'd ever seen his ribs as much as he could now.

"I know you're hungry, DiNozzo," Gibbs said, "So stop being stupid and come out."

"Make me!" Tony yelled, suddenly angry. "I'd rather starve than eat your stupid food!"

Tony was surprised by the crashing noise, and could only assume that Gibbs had hit or thrown something. Hard.

"Fine!" Gibbs yelled back, and Tony felt briefly satisfied at finally making Gibbs lose control. "You can starve for all I care!"

"Fine, I will!" Tony yelled and was relieved when he heard the vampire leave. He slumped back and slid down the wall. "I hate this," Tony muttered, but refused to acknowledge that this was probably the best deal he could have gotten. He refused to accept being _owned _by the same people who had _murdered _his parents.

* * *

Tony lost count of how many times Gibbs offered him food. Tony didn't accept any of it. Luckily, there was a small sink in the bathroom so he was able to get enough water to not die of dehydration. Gibbs was starting to sound less angry each time he offered food, and more worried. Tony wasn't entirely sure why Gibbs was letting him stay inside the bathroom. At first Tony thought Gibbs would be happy to just let him drop off in piece, but Tony didn't really think that was something the vampire would condone. Gibbs had never once relented in his offering of food. Each day he would offer Tony breakfast lunch and dinner, and should Tony refuse (as he always did) Gibbs would leave the food outside the door until he next came. Having the food sitting right outside his door was pure torture, but Tony refused to give in. Hopefully Gibbs would get annoyed enough to throw him back out onto the streets.

Tony didn't think he would actually survive very long outside in his current condition, but at least he would be _free_. He had tried to stand the other day and he had simply collapsed, and he knew the days of self imposed starvation were taking their toll on his body. He was incredibly thirsty right now, but he just could not summon the energy to pull up and get to the sink.

Tony groaned as he heard angry voices outside his cupboard. Fuck, could they not let him starve himself in piece.

"Jethro," one voice said, "You cannot let the poor boy starve."

"What am I supposed to do? He won't come out, won't eat," Gibbs' voice said angrily.

"Can you blame him?" The Scotsman said softly. "From what you've said, the boy's parents were murdered in front of him by vampires. Now don't growl at me like that, Jethro, I know you will not and have not killed a human being in cold blood, but _he_ doesn't know that."

"He won't listen to a word I say, Duck. I can't drag him out and force him to eat; he has to do it on his own, but now I'm not sure he even wants to live." Gibbs said, and Tony had to wonder why the vampire was talking to a duck. Or why the duck was talking back. Well, no one had known vampires existed, so maybe there were talking Scottish ducks walking around too. Who the fuck knew anything anymore? Tony ignored the part about whether he wanted to live or not; he just couldn't be bothered to think about that notion anymore.

"Go away," Tony tried to say, but his throat was so dry that nothing came out. Tony tried again, but it hurt his throat so much that tears pooled in his eyes, and he futilely tried to swipe them away but even lifting his arm up was too much effort right now.

"Well starving him isn't going to help. Honestly, Jethro, this has gone on long enough."

"I know, Ducky," Gibbs said, "But it's not like I haven't been giving him food! He just won't eat it."

Ducky sighed. "I'll look the poor boy over, see how he's doing. I'll come and get you when I'm done."

"Ordering me around, Duck," Gibbs voice asked amused.

Ducky chucked. "Not ordering, no. It was merely a suggestion."

"Alright," Gibbs said quietly. "Let me know how he's doing."

Tony heard Gibbs walk away and the groaned again as light infiltrated his previously dim world. He had taken to leaving the light off; it made it much easier to drop off to sleep.

"Oh dear," the Scotsman said, and Tony, even in his addled state, quickly realized that it was not a talking Duck.

"You're not a duck," Tony rasped out, before a fit of coughing overtook him.

"No my dear boy, I most certainly am not a Duck, although that does remind me of a rather odd man I met once who insisted he was goose. It was quite hard to work out what was wrong with him at first because he simply refused to speak English; he kept trying to talk like the bird," Ducky rambled. "But I doubt that delightful anecdote was of much use to you."

Tony just stared. He hardly processed any of what the man was saying, but the next thing he knew he was being handed a glass of water.

"Drink this," Ducky said, "But slowly now, we don't want to make you sick."

Tony wished he had the willpower to say no, to just refuse and slowly die in that bathroom. But he was so damn thirsty and this whole dying business was suddenly a lot harder than he thought it would be. So he accepted the water and drank slowly, savoring the feel of the cool liquid sliding down his throat.

"That's better," Ducky said approvingly. "Now let me get a good look at you."

Tony tried to shuffle back when ducky went to lift his shirt. "You're not a vampire are you?"

Ducky's eyes narrowed slightly. "No I'm not. I take it that living in a house with a vampire is why you foolishly decided to stop eating?"

"Wasn't foolish," Tony muttered. "Don't wanna be mated to a vampire. They're killers."

Ducky sighed."Obviously you have been subjected to a side of vampires that isn't all that common nowadays."

"Huh?" Tony muttered intelligently.

"Never mind," Ducky said softly, "That's a discussion for another time. Now let me check you over and see how bad the damage is."

Tony was too tired to argue so let the doctor check him over.

"Well, you're obviously quite underweight," Ducky said once he'd finished. "But you're not bad enough to require a feeding tube or anything drastic like that. You're affected more by dehydration than starvation. Why in heavens name did you stop drinking?"

"Was too tired," Tony mumbled. "Tired now, too."

"Well I'm guessing a lot is catching up with you now that you have finally stopped running; including your decided lack of food. You know," Ducky said softly, "If you had stopped running a long time ago, you might not be in this position. It's a lot safer in here than it is out there."

"So people keep telling me," Tony said opening one eye and looking at the doctor. "But I still think I'd rather be out there with my independence than in here with no choice whatsoever."

Ducky sighed. "You have more choice than you think you have. I think you have been rather misinformed of the lives of most vampires nowadays. I can assure you, they are vastly different from the ones than roam the streets that you once lived on."

"Whatever," Tony muttered. "It's not like I can just walk out of here now, is it?"

Ducky shook his head. "No, I highly doubt that Jethro would allow that. But that's for your own good, but I shall allow him to explain that to you at a later date. For now we are going to try and move you to your room."

Duck stood and Tony reluctantly grasped his hand but wavered and slumped against the door as exhaustion gripped him again.

"Don't think that is gonna happen," Tony whispered shutting his eyes against the dizziness.

Ducky shook his head. "I think we are going to require Jethro's assistance on this one."

Before Tony could say anything Ducky was yelling out for the vampire.

"I am not being carried to my room like some Damsel in distress," Tony said heatedly.

"Well you're not being left to sulk in here," Ducky said sharply. "And if you had eaten the food Jethro had given you then you wouldn't be in this mess."

"If _Jethro_ had just let me go like I asked then I wouldn't be in this mess either," Tony shot back.

"No. You'd be dead," Ducky said simply. "Or worse."

"Why does everyone assume that I won't survive, and that I'll get captured as soon as I walk out the door?" Tony asked angrily. "Everyone seems to forget that I've been on the streets since I was fifteen and been fine."

Well he hadn't been fine per say. There had been the incident where his group had been attacked by a lone vampire, and Tony had ended up with the bone of his arm sticking out through the skin. That hadn't been fun, not to mention there hadn't been a hospital for miles. Though, that was probably one of the least life threatening incidents.

"I highly doubt you were fine," Ducky said sternly. "I may be old but I have eyes. I can see the scars."

"Well I'm not dead," Tony added stubbornly.

"Not being dead isn't the same as fine, DiNozzo," Gibbs said.

Tony grimaced as Gibbs leaned against the doorframe of the bathroom.

"I am not being carried to my room," Tony stated.

"It's your own fault that you need to be," Gibbs pointed out. "And you're not really gonna have a choice."

Tony glared and was surprised when Gibbs winced at his choice of words.

"Jethro, that is not what Anthony needs to hear right now," Ducky said.

Gibbs sighed. "Well how else are we gonna get him out of here then?"

"Help him," Ducky said in exasperation. "He's not an invalid nor is he dying. He can walk with some help. And you will accept Jethro's help," Ducky added when Tony tried to interject.

Gibbs nodded and moved into the bathroom and slung Tony's arm over his shoulder.

"Don't complain," Gibbs said under his breath, "For both our sakes."

"Sounds like you're scared." Tony muttered trying to ignore the dizziness.

"I am not scared," Gibbs said firmly, "But I am not gonna suffer through another one of his lectures. God knows I've had enough of them this past week to last a lifetime."

"Being a vampire doesn't make your voice any quieter, Jethro," Ducky called out from behind them. "And you deserved every one of those lectures. Look at the state of the poor boy!"

Tony was horrified to find that he couldn't suppress the snort that arose at the wince that crossed Gibbs' face.

"The 'poor boy' could have eaten anytime he wanted," Gibbs pointed out with a glare at Tony. "He also could have left that stupid bathroom, which is now off limits, and gone to his room."

"It's not like I had a lot of incentive to leave it," Tony muttered. "If you think I've changed my mind about anything then you're wrong."

Gibbs sighed. "You're gonna learn soon enough that the vampires you've been encountering are the very lowest of our society. They're not tolerated around here, and if we find one, then we take care of it."

"Whatever," Tony muttered, "You guys do a pretty crap job of it."

Tony could see he was pissing Gibbs off, but he could also see that the vampire was making a strong effort to keep himself from yelling at Tony.

"Look," Gibbs said stiffly, "I know you're not gonna be able to change your opinion of us overnight. And I know that you have damn good reason not to, but you are gonna have to accept the fact that this is your life now. It's a lot better than you think it's gonna be."

Gibbs' voice sounded almost earnest, well as earnest as Tony reckoned that Gibbs would ever get. Tony was almost tempted to believe him, to stop fighting and to just listen. But then he thought of his parents and what they had been through, and his resolve strengthened. He didn't know what kind of game Gibbs was playing at, but Tony was determined that he wouldn't be suckered in by it. That being said, he had been here a week and Gibbs hadn't done anything untoward.

Tony decided that he while he didn't have to trust the vampire, he could at least be polite and he said as much to Gibbs.

Surprisingly, Gibbs grinned. "It's a start," he said gruffly, but Tony could tell he was pleased that he hadn't been insulted again. Gibbs didn't seem like the kind of person who took abuse lying down, so it probably bothered him to no end that he'd had to endure it from Tony. There were a few things Tony knew about Gibbs now that he could use to really hurt the vampire, like his daughter. But deep down Tony knew that even if Gibbs had forced him into anything, he wouldn't have mentioned Gibbs' daughter. Tony knew what it was like to lose your family, and he had seen the very real pain in Gibbs' eyes that night when he'd mentioned his daughter. There was no way he would ever stoop that low.

"Excellent," Ducky called happily from behind him, "We'll all get along splendidly soon enough. Abby will be ecstatic that you're out."

"Abby?" Tony asked.

"She works with me," Gibbs said fondly. "She's unique as hell, but I don't think even you could hate her."

"That sounds promising," Tony muttered. "Wait, you have a job?"

"Well yeah," Gibbs said as if that fact should have been obvious. "I'm not just given money."

"Must pay well," Tony said as they finally arrived at what he guessed was his bedroom. "This house is huge. I've never been inside one this big before. Actually, that's not saying much 'cause I haven't been in many, but this one seems bigger than normal."

"You didn't have a house at all when you were younger?" Gibbs asked as he deposited Tony on the bed.

Tony lay down on the bed and shook his head. "Nope. We lived in motels mostly, and sometimes the car."

Ducky sighed. "This is where the council got it wrong," he said sadly. "They didn't make an effort to inform anyone that things were better. People just kept on running, usually right into danger."

"Idiots," Gibbs said harshly. "They should have damn well listened when people told them that."

"What should they have told everyone?' Tony asked quietly.

"That there was a council, that there were laws," Ducky said softly. "I doubt your parents would have been running if they had known that there was a safe place waiting for them. As it were, they thought running was the best thing for you."

"But the safe place involved being farmed for blood," Tony said bitterly. "I doubt they would have gone even then."

"That's where they went wrong again," Ducky said and this time Tony could hear a trace of anger in his voice. "Everyone thought that they would be housed in some torture house and have the blood sucked out of them. It's not like that at all."

"What is it like then?" Tony asked. Now he was really curious, not to mention angry. If what Ducky was saying was true, then his parents needn't have died at all. They could have still been with him now. He wouldn't have had to live on the streets for ten years.

This time Gibbs answered. "You ever donated blood? Just to a hospital?"

Tony shook his head. "No, but I know about it. Why?"

"'Cause that's all it is," Gibbs said simply. "Just sitting on a chair while the doctor draws some blood. You just go in every month and that's it."

"But what about all the shit I've heard about actual _farms_?" Tony demanded. "Ones where there are hundreds of people and half of them die from the damn conditions as opposed to having the blood sucked out of them by vampires!"

"I'm not gonna deny that they exist, Tony," Gibbs said softly. "But they never last long; they're always shut down as soon as we find out about them."

"They're very rare," Ducky supplied. "Most vampires just get their blood legally. It's a lot easier, and ones that want to drink from someone living have a mate who's willing."

Tony was beyond furious. He was so mad he felt physically sick, and it didn't help that he hadn't eaten in a week and was dehydrated. "So I've been running from nothing? All this time I could have been living a normal life?" Tony demanded. He tried to ignore the way his breathing was quickening and the room was spinning. "Where the fuck was I supposed to go? No one I ever spoke to out there told me any of this! No one knows it's safe!"

"Anthony, you must calm down," Ducky said in alarm.

"Tony," Gibbs said sternly, "Listen to me, alright?"

Tony nodded, still breathing heavily, but desperately wanting to hear something that would make this better.

"They fucked up," Gibbs said, "And they're still fucking it up now. We are _trying_ to inform people, but it's hard when so many are running. But we're getting there; it's gonna take time, but we will get there."

"They could still be alive," Tony whispered raggedly. "They didn't need to die."

Gibbs sighed. "I wish I could tell you something different, Tony."

Tony could feel his eyes burning and he swiped at them furiously. "I really want to be alone now," he said hoarsely.

Gibbs looked like he was about to protest but then nodded and stood, as did Ducky.

"Anthony, I will bring you up some water and soup later. And you must eat it, understand?" Ducky said sternly. "If you don't we won't have any choice but to take you to the hospital, and have them insert a feeding tube."

Tony nodded. "Okay. I'll eat."

Ducky gave him a gently smile and left the room. Of course that only served to make Tony feel worse. He angrily wiped at his face as the tears finally spilled over. He had always thought that his parent's had died for _something, _that they had been fighting some great battle and their deaths meant something. Now it suddenly they didn't mean shit. They could have been living this happy suburban life, with monthly visits to the doctor being the only inconvenience.

Instead they had spent most of their married life running with him in tow, fighting people who weren't even the real enemy. Gibbs had said that they didn't make excuses for what had happened when vampires had first taken over; they had been drunk with power, and abused it. For the first time Tony actually believed him. In the space of a week he had already met two vampires who were calm and collected and didn't try to kill him on sight. Instead they had both tried to explain to him that they weren't the enemy. It was starting to look like Damien and Gibbs were right, and he was wrong.

Tony closed his eyes and tried to force himself to sleep, but thoughts of his parent's deaths kept floating through his mind. Tony tried to force his thoughts in other directions, and eventually they settled on Gibbs. Tony still was definitely not keen on being a mate, he couldn't see himself submitting to Gibbs and enjoying it. But apparently he had been wrong about everything else about vampires, so maybe he was wrong about this as well.

* * *

Hi guys, sorry about the wait, its been hectic with the holidays and all but hopefully I should be able to update faster now! And just letting people know the vague timeline I have going on in my head - Tony was 15 when his parents were murdered, and he's twenty-five now, and Gibbs was turned when he was 40 (but I haven't decided on a vampire age for him yet.) I checked to make sure this coincided with what I already wrote, but if there's any inconsistencies then let me know!

Hope you enjoy! And thanks to Finlaure for the Beta!

P.S I realised some of the breaks I was using between parts of the story weren't working, so I've gone back and fixed that in chapter one!


	3. Chapter 3

Tony was tempted to remain asleep when Ducky returned to his room, but he remembered the threat of a feeding tube and decided to cooperate.

"Soup first," Ducky ordered firmly. "Then the water. Take these as well, please."

Tony accepted the soup and breathed in the rich smell. He was _really_ hungry. "Thanks," he said softly as he dipped the spoon in. Tony almost groaned out loud when the flavor of the soup exploded across his tongue. "This is really good," he said.

"Tell that to Jethro, he made it," Ducky said with a wry smile. "He's quite the cook."

Tony's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

Ducky nodded. "None of his previous wives had any interest in cooking, so he did it for them. But that's not why he learnt."

"His daughter?" Tony guessed.

"He mentioned Kelly?" Ducky asked in surprise.

"Not by name," Tony hastened to add, "But he mentioned that he had one."

Ducky looked extremely shocked. "Did he say anything else?"

Tony shook his head. "No, but he spoke about her in the past tense, so I'm guessing she's not around anymore?"

"No, she's not," Ducky said still looking surprised. "It's remarkable that he even mentioned her."

"Why?" Tony asked.

"Well none of his previous wives even knew about her," Ducky said softly.

Tony paused. "I take it her mother isn't around either."

Ducky shook his head. "No, she's not. But I think we've had enough discussion about Jethro for now. I'll leave him to tell you the rest, should he decide to. Now finish your soup," Ducky added sternly.

Tony nodded and quickly drank down the soup, and immediately felt better once he was finished. Ducky handed him the two pills, and he downed them with the glass of water.

"Better?" Ducky asked.

"Much," Tony answered, "Thanks."

"I think it's best if you stay in bed for at least a couple more days," Ducky said as he considered Tony. "You're very underweight right now."

"I can't look that bad," Tony protested.

"I would get you a mirror, but I wouldn't want you to die of fright," Ducky said with a grin.

Tony frowned and glanced down at his arms. He didn't look that bad from what he could see. "You're not known for your bedside manner are you?" Tony asked sourly.

Ducky chortled. "Cheer up; we'll have you better in no time."

Tony sighed. "I'm sure you will." Tony wasn't too worried about getting better; he was more worried about what would happen after he was better.

"I know everything's a bit confusing for you right now, Anthony," Ducky said softly. "But if you ever need to talk I am here."

Tony nodded as he throat tightened uncomfortably. "I'll think about it," Tony said hoarsely, but he was grateful for the offer. "What's that around your wrist," Tony asked attempting to divert the conversation.

Ducky raised his arm and Tony took a closer look at the simple black band that encircled his wrist. "Is that from Gibbs?" Tony asked surprised.

Ducky nodded. "It's from Jethro, yes."

"Why does he need a mate then?" Tony demanded. "He's got you."

"This band in no way shape or form makes me the equivalent of a mate," Ducky said laughing. "I live here, yes, but I don't share Jethro's bed, just his home."

"Well, why do you have that then?" Tony asked. "I've never seen them before."

"They're not the most common item," Ducky said, "They merely let other vampires know that Jethro has some claim over me. It's for my protection only, should I ever get into a sticky situation, or attract unwanted attention."

"Have you ever really needed it?" Tony asked stunned. He had never heard of vampires simply offering protection to humans without demanding anything in return.

"No, but Abby has numerous times," Ducky said with a smile. "She's quite fond of the clubbing scene, and often has a number of admirers."

"Does she live here too?" Tony asked.

"Most of the time, yes," Ducky answered. "However she does have an apartment as well."

Tony sighed; everything about Gibbs just seemed to get more and more confusing. "So he lets you two live here in exchange for blood?" Tony asked hesitantly.

"Good gracious, no," Ducky said with a smile. "The blood is completely voluntary on our parts. Jethro would never make us donate unwillingly. It's hardly a chore, we have to donate monthly anyway, and we just donate separately to Jethro as well."

"Don't you get tired?" Tony asked, "From donating the extra blood?"

Ducky laughed. "Oh no, my boy, vampires don't need a lot of blood to sustain them. It doesn't affect us at all."

That statement didn't sit right with Tony. When his parents had been killed the vampires responsible had drunk more than enough blood. Apparently the look on his face showed some of his thoughts, because Ducky's face softened considerably.

"But there will always be those who take more than they need," Ducky said softly. "It doesn't matter whether you're human or vampire; there will always be members who do unspeakable things."

"But being a vampire means they can do a lot worse," Tony whispered, remembering how painfully his parents had died. The vampires hadn't just drunk from them; they had played with them, _tortured them_.

"But they can also stop a great deal as well, Anthony," Ducky said softly. "I can't get you to change how you feel about vampires, and even Jethro understands why you dislike them, but sooner or later you'll have to accept that this is your world now."

"I have accepted it," Tony said angrily. "That doesn't mean I have to like it." Tony sighed and slumped back into the pillows. "Everything I ever thought was wrong," he said softly. "Vampires might not be the bad guys, but I still don't like their society."

"How their mates are chosen for them?" Ducky asked.

Tony nodded. "I don't get any say. Even if I decided I wanted to stay here and be mated to Gibbs, how would I ever know that I actually wanted it, or if it was just Stockholm?"

"It seems incomprehensible now," Ducky said slowly, "But there is a lot about this process that you don't know, and should you find out wouldn't understand."

"What if there was someone out there for me?" Tony asked angrily. "What if I could have had a family and a house with a white picket fence? I can't ever have that now!"

"What if Jethro was that someone?" Ducky asked. "The council doesn't just pick two people who they think will look good together. And they very rarely mate a human and a vampire, purely based on your reaction now. Humans find it very hard to understand how vampire society works, and therefore find it incredibly hard to accept being a mate."

"Then why me?" Tony interrupted.

"Because there would have been very strong evidence that you and Jethro were suited for one and other," Ducky said simply.

"I find that hard to believe," Tony muttered.

Ducky looked at him sternly. "That may be so, but you do owe Jethro some respect. Most vampires do not wait around for their mate to accept the idea that they now belong to someone."

Tony sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I know," he said, "And I am grateful. I really am, but this is huge. And what if he gets sick of waiting?" Tony asked quietly.

"I won't," Gibbs said from the hallway, and Tony's head shot up in shock.

"I believe that's my cue," Ducky said good naturedly. "Anthony, I'll bring you up some more soup in a couple of hours, and you must keep yourself hydrated," he added glancing meaningfully at the water on the bedside table.

Tony nodded. "I will. Thank you."

Tony couldn't bring himself to look at Gibbs as the vampire walked into the room and sat by his bed.

"I'm not going to force myself on you," Gibbs said again.

Tony wondered if Gibbs was getting sick of having to repeat himself. "I want to believe you," he said, "But I can't."

"Tony, this has got to stop," Gibbs said softly.

Tony froze at the quiet anger in the vampire's voice. "Why?" he asked quietly, "Why the fuck should this stop? I don't want to be here, _you_ don't want me to be here!"

"You're not giving me a damn chance to want you to be here!" Gibbs yelled. "But there's no way in hell that I'm going to toss you out into the street. You have no idea what would happen."

"What the hell!" Tony yelled, his temper soaring again. "I know exactly what would happen, I've been living on the streets since I was fifteen; I know what to do!"

Tony didn't know why he was deliberately provoking Gibbs. All he knew was that he was frustrated with everything. He was sick of not having a choice in anything, sick of running, and now he was angry because he wasn't even sure if he wanted to go back out on the streets. They might have told him that vampire society was different to what he had thought, but that didn't change the fact that both Ducky and this Abby person wore arm bands to stop themselves getting unwanted attention from other vampires. Gibbs had already hinted that he held some appeal to vampires, but Tony still didn't know what that was, and it was frustrating him to no end. Tony knew he had already decided to stay. He hated it, but for some reason he felt safer here than he ever had out on the streets.

"That was before," Gibbs said in frustration.

"Before what?" Tony asked angrily.

"Before you weren't on the map," Gibbs said quietly. "We didn't know you existed – Now we do."

"Why is it such a big deal?" Tony asked slumping down on the couch and looking up at Gibbs. "Why does it even matter?"

Gibbs growled and resumed his former pacing. "Because I wasn't the only vampire you were considered for. You're damn lucky that the council wasn't swayed by the money that was offered for you – and believe me, there was a lot of money offered."

"But why?" Tony asked in frustration.

Gibbs sighed. "Vampires are very sensitive to certain _characteristics_," Gibbs said slowly.

"Like how Damien seemed to think I wasn't straight," Tony interrupted.

Gibbs nodded. "Yes, and whether or not you've slept with someone recently. Or at all."

"Wait," Tony said slowly, "You can tell if someone's a _virgin_?"

Gibbs nodded slowly. "Yeah, and virgins have a certain appeal to vampires."

"Shit," Tony muttered. "That's great."

"Especially virgins who look like you, and are like you," Gibbs continued.

"What do you mean are like me?" Tony asked sharply.

"Well, we can tell if someone is going to be able to submit to us or not," Gibbs started. "And most humans can't do that fully; they can pretend to feel it but they don't really get it."

"And you think I'm going to be able to submit to gay kinky sex?" Tony asked incredulously. "Are you sure you guys aren't all insane?"

Gibbs snorted. "No we really know. The thing is you're a virgin, and you have the potential to submit. Add your looks on top of all of that and you have the ideal vampire mate."

"Or someone that they'll just take," Tony said in realization.

Gibbs nodded. "If you left without my permission, those vampires will think I'm revoking my claim on you and they'll take you. I'd probably be able to find you eventually, but I doubt they'd wait before taking you."

Tony groaned. "Can't I just go have sex with someone then? They'd leave me alone after that right?"

Gibbs growled and Tony knew right away what his answer would be.

"No," Gibbs said harshly.

"It would fix everything," Tony argued.

"No, it would make me go crazy," Gibbs snapped back. "You're _my mate_."

"But we haven't bonded or had sex or even kissed!" Tony exclaimed. "You don't even like me!"

"That's not true," Gibbs argued, "_You _don't like_ me_. You won't even give me chance because I'm a vampire. But you're still mine regardless."

"Then you have sex with me," Tony said resolutely. He knew he was doing a complete 180, but he'd rather he had to have semi consensual sex with Gibbs than be raped by some other vampire who wasn't going to give him a choice. Even though the thought of having sex with Gibbs still filled him with fear, and not just because he was a vampire, it was better than the alternative.

Gibbs shook his head. "No, I said I wasn't going to force you into anything."

"I just asked you!" Tony exclaimed.

"Yeah, but you're doing it out of fear," Gibbs said softly. "You don't want it."

"Do you even want it?" Tony asked locking eyes with the vampire. "You seem to have as much choice as I do."

"I want to give it a chance," Gibbs said slowly. "You aren't the only person the council has selected for me."

"I don't understand any of this," Tony said thumping his head against the pillow in frustration.

"I'd explain it all to you if I could, but I don't understand it myself," Gibbs said softly. "I just know that most of the time it works."

"Most of the time?" Tony said sharply.

Gibbs surprisingly looked a little awkward. "Both parties need to be willing to make it work," he said finally. "I haven't been until now."

"Why not?" Tony asked, though he really meant 'why me?'

Gibbs sighed. "It's a long story."

"Well apparently I'm not going anywhere," Tony said pointedly. "So tell away."

Gibbs glared at him, but Tony refused to be swayed. Eventually Gibbs shook his head. "I wasn't ready to move on then. I am now."

Tony knew without a doubt that Gibbs was talking about the mother of his daughter.

"She was human?" Tony asked softly. "The one you were trying to move on from?"

Gibbs nodded. "She was."

"What did she think about being selected as a mate?" Tony asked hesitantly.

Surprisingly Gibbs laughed. "She hated it. She swore she wouldn't come near me and she stayed in her room for weeks. She did eat though," Gibbs added on with a glare at Tony. "She sure as hell didn't end up needing medical attention."

Tony couldn't help but flush. When Gibbs spoke about his first week like that, it did sound kind of stupid. "I was desperate," he muttered.

"And now?" Gibbs asked.

"Not so desperate," Tony said with a shrug, "But still not happy. But," he started before Gibbs could interrupt, "It's starting to be a bit more appealing than I thought originally."

Gibbs smirked at him. "That almost sounded like some kind of an apology."

"Don't get me wrong," Tony added quickly, "I still have huge issues with vampires, and I'm still not comfortable here, but maybe you're not like the other vampires I've met."

"I'll take what I can get," Gibbs said with a shrug. "I can't pretend to understand what you're going through, but I have got some experience in the adjustment period. And as for the fact you're still frightened of me, we'll just have to give it time."

"I'm not frightened," Tony protested. "Just nervous."

"Is that why you're right on the edge of the bed, _and_ leaning away from me?" Gibbs asked in amusement.

"Just being cautious," Tony muttered. Realistically, it was pretty obvious that Gibbs wasn't gonna hurt him. If Gibbs had wanted to drink from him, or fuck him, then he could have done well before now. But as much as he wanted to focus on that, and believe everything that Gibbs was saying, he couldn't. He kept flashing back to his parents and every other altercation he'd had with a vampire. But he had said he was going to give this a chance, and at least try to understand it. It wasn't like he was going to be able to leave anytime soon, and Tony didn't see any point in making himself more miserable than he already was.

"I just don't see how this is going to be fair in any way," Tony said in frustration. "I don't have a say in anything."

Gibbs frowned. "That's not how it's gonna work."

"Really?" Tony said sarcastically. "So if I wanted to tie you up and top, that'd be okay?"

"I'd let you try," Gibbs said softly, though the look on his face showed just how uncomfortable he was with that idea. "I might be a bastard, but I'm not gonna say no just 'cause I don't want to do something. But that particular idea wouldn't work."

"And why's that?" Tony demanded.

"Because you'd hate tying me up just as much as I'd hate being tied up," Gibbs said with a smirk.

"You don't know that," Tony muttered, though the thought of tying Gibbs up made him more uncomfortable than the idea of being tied up did.

"As for topping," Gibbs said slowly, "Domination isn't really about whom tops who. If you really wanted to I'd let you."

"Can't really see you bottoming and liking it," Tony said with a snort. "Not that I've spent a lot of time thinking about gay sex. Or sex in general really," Tony mumbled. "Never really had time for it."

"That's definitely not a bad thing from where I' m standing," Gibbs said with a smirk.

"I'm twenty-five and never had sex," Tony said with a glare. "How is that a good thing?"

"I don't think that's any comment on you," Gibbs said quickly, "If you had grown up in different circumstances I doubt you would have had any problems. As for it being a good thing," Gibbs started slowly, "Well vampires are very possessive."

"And?" Tony asked expectantly.

"It's good that no one else had touched you," Gibbs said with a shrug.

"But you want to," Tony said softly.

"Yeah I do," Gibbs said. "But not 'till you want it. I'm a vampire, I can be patient."

"Do you even know what you're dealing with here?" Tony asked. "I'm not just a human who doesn't understand the concept of mates. I'm a human who watched his parents get murdered at fifteen. I'm a human who isn't just nervous about sex with a vampire, but is nervous about sex period," Tony finished in a shout. "And I don't know if I am ever going to be able to trust you."

Gibbs winced. "You saw your parent's murder?"

Tony clenched his jaw and nodded.

"I don't blame you for thinking you can't trust me," Gibbs said firmly. "But you've already taken the first step. You're giving this a chance, no matter how small."

"I don't really have a lot of other options," Tony said softly, stifling a yawn.

"Doesn't matter," Gibbs said with a grin. "I'm not gonna be picky." Gibbs stood and glanced down at Tony. "You should sleep. Duck will be up soon with some food."

Tony nodded and watched as Gibbs left before lowering his head back to the pillow. Tony wished things would just slow down. It just seemed like more and more information was being thrown at him and he just couldn't find the time or energy to absorb it all.

'There can't be any more or my head's gonna explode,' thought Tony as he waited for sleep to claim him. He didn't have to wait long, he was exhausted and before he knew it, he was fast asleep.

* * *

Sorry this chapters shorter than the others; I had major writers block with it! But I have heaps written for future chapters, so I can make myself keep writing towards them!

Thanks to Finlaure for the beta :]

Hope you enjoy!


	4. Chapter 4

Tony was surprised at how drained he felt when he finally woke up. But although he still felt tired, the long hours of sleep meant that is was impossible to remain in bed. So there really wasn't anything left for him to do but look around.

Tony rolled out of bed and was surprised to see that there were clean clothes on the chair in the corner. He checked them and was even more surprised to see that they were in his size. They weren't anything special, but considering the worn out dirty clothes that Tony had been wearing for weeks, they were amazing.

Tony sighed at the feel of the clean material on his skin. It had been so long since he had felt that feeling. Once he was dressed, he quietly opened the door and stepped out. Even though Tony knew that had Gibbs been listening he would have easily heard him leave his room, he couldn't stop himself from being quiet. It was a habit born out of necessity, and one which Tony didn't think he'd be able to lose. But when Gibbs didn't appear, Tony walked down the hall. He wasn't sure if Gibbs would be angry that he was wandering around at night, but really, if he wasn't allowed out then someone should have said. And Tony was sure Gibbs would have stopped him by now if he was doing anything wrong.

As nervous as Tony was about walking around Gibbs' house, he had been cooped up in small rooms for far too long, especially since he was used to living out in the open. Tony thought he would have enjoyed being in a house again, enjoyed having four walls around him to protect him from everything he knew was out there. However, he just felt confined, though that really wasn't a surprise considering he was essentially trapped.

Tony was reluctant to let his thoughts stay too much on the topic of Gibbs, but of course that's exactly where they went. Tony didn't know what to think of the vampire, and it was confusing the hell out of him. He didn't want to trust Gibbs, hell he didn't trust Gibbs, but there was just something different about him. The thing that got to Tony was how easy it would be to trust Gibbs. Gibbs hadn't tried to hurt him, had left him when he wanted to be alone, and given him his protection. But Tony just couldn't trust him; his parents might have died running from an essentially well structured community, but it was still vampires that killed them. It was still vampires that Tony had been running from his entire life. It was still vampires that had continuously attacked him and the people he had been with for no good reason. That was what it came down to. Gibbs was a vampire and every instinct Tony had was telling him to run. But something else was telling him to stay, to wait things out and see what happened even if he didn't trust Gibbs, and Tony hated that. It should be easy. He should be trying with everything he had to escape, but he wasn't. He was just too tired of running, and already he had learnt that things weren't as black and white as he had thought. He wasn't about to run back to his old life without fully knowing what this new one would entail.

That being said, right now Tony didn't see what he would gain from staying – he couldn't see himself sleeping with Gibbs let alone submitting to him. But he just didn't think he could live on the streets again, not after this. Not after having people take care of him. Not after feeling safe for the first time in ten years.

Tony kept wandering around the house, keeping up his internal debate, but he refused to actually do into any of the rooms. He didn't want to risk walking into whatever room Gibbs resided in.

He started when something flashed in the corner of his eye, but when he turned around he realized it was his own reflection. Tony stared; he hadn't looked at himself properly in so long that he hardly recognized himself. Tony forced back the lump in his throat and blinked quickly, he looked so much like his father. He'd inherited the dark messy hair and hazel eyes, but his features were softer, definitely influenced by his mother. It hurt more than he ever thought it would to look in the mirror and see his parents staring back.

Ducky was right though, if he had seen himself when they pulled him out of the bathroom, then he probably would have screamed, but not for the reason that Ducky thought. Though it was painfully obvious how thin he was. His face was gaunt and his eyes were dull and tired with dark circles still present even after all the sleep he'd gotten. Tony was thankful that the mirror was full length; he didn't want to see what the rest of him looked like. The fact that the clothes that would have once fitted him perfectly were loose gave him a good indication of how he would look.

Eventually Tony pulled himself away from the mirror and walked to the end of the hall and found himself back at the entrance to the house. He walked to the front door and quietly pulled it open before sitting on the doorstep.

As embarrassing as it was, Tony couldn't bring himself to actually move out of the door frame. His earlier conversation with Gibbs still rang loud and clear in his mind, and he wasn't keen on the idea of being taken by what he guessed were the corrupt, rich vampires of this society. It was eating away at Tony how similar the vampire society was to the former human one. There was corruption in the rich sector and violence in the poor sector. Tony had no idea whether vampires who had less income had limited access to blood and that was why they acted out, or if there were other reasons. It was a lot easier when he was able to believe that all vampires were the same. Although he wanted to run, he was too scared. He could not handle meeting any more vampires in his current mindset.

Instead, Tony let himself enjoy the crisp air on his face. He might not miss sleeping underneath bridges and in doorways, but he had missed being outside.

"Surprised you haven't tried to leave yet."

Tony started, and tried to jump to his feet, but getting up that fast only succeeded in making his head spin and he stumbled forward. He tensed when strong arms grabbed him and steadied him.

"Relax; I'm not going to do anything," Gibbs murmured, "Just making sure you don't fall."

"I wasn't going to fall," Tony said sullenly trying to ignore the way his heart was thumping painfully in his chest. "Can you not do that? Not all of us have supernatural hearing."

Tony pulled at Gibbs' arms, and couldn't stop the start of surprise that occurred when Gibbs actually let go. Gibbs did look a little abashed, and Tony was confused for a second, but then he realized that Gibbs could probably tell exactly how much he had scared him.

"Good thing I was here or you'd have fallen flat on his face," Gibbs said.

"I wouldn't have started to fall if you hadn't snuck up on me," Tony shot back moving away from Gibbs and leaning against the wooden post.

"I wouldn't have snuck up on you if I hadn't thought you might try and leave," Gibbs said wryly, but Tony could see the slight wince that his movement caused.

"I wasn't going to leave," Tony muttered sliding down against the wood, "Just thinking about it."

Gibbs nodded. "Gotta say, I'm a bit surprised you haven't tried to run."

Tony sighed. "I'm tired of running. I've been doing it my whole life."

Gibbs shoved his hands in his pockets and stared down at him. "Don't blame you. I'd be tired too."

"Don't know if tired is enough to make me want this," Tony said watching Gibbs carefully. "Tell it to me straight, what happens if I never want this?"

Gibbs was silent for a minute before finally answering. "I won't ever force you into anything, no matter how long you've been here. But I can't let you go." Gibbs paused. "I guess I'd give you a band like Ducky's and keep you with me."

"Even at work?" Tony asked dubiously.

Gibbs nodded. "I think you'd be fine. You survived on the streets long enough to know what you're doing."

"Wait, what do you do?" Tony asked surprised.

"NCIS," Gibbs said, "We solve navy crimes."

"I've never been on a boat," Tony stated, "But I can shoot."

"Don't need to have even seen the ocean to work for us," Gibbs said with a grin. "Shooting's good though. I'll take you in when you're better."

"I'm fine now," Tony said quickly. As reluctant as he was to spend more time with Gibbs, he needed to get out. He needed to see everything that Gibbs and Ducky had spoken about. It was damn hard to believe everything they said, but Tony did. He didn't understand why he did, and he definitely needed some proof to reassure himself, but he believed them.

"You almost fell flat on your face just from standing up," Gibbs said sharply. "There's no way you're going out into the field."

"But I need to," Tony stressed standing up. "I need to _see_ everything."

"Everything me and Duck said?" Gibbs asked softly.

Tony nodded. "Yeah. I believe it, too much makes sense for me not to, but I need to see it."

"I can't take you into the field," Gibbs repeated, "But I can take you out."

"Where?" Tony asked quickly.

"I don't know," Gibbs said impatiently. "Around. The hospital so you can see where donations happen. Can show you the suburbs around here."

Tony was surprised at how much Gibbs was willing to do for him, but he supposed it shouldn't have come as a surprise. Gibbs had done a lot for him so far, none of which he had needed to do.

Tony nodded his head in thanks. "Can we go tomorrow?"

"We'll see," Gibbs said with a small smile. "Depends on how much rest you get tonight."

Tony snorted and looked back out across the street. "Can't sleep right now. Too much to think about."

Gibbs moved and sat down on the step, but made sure that there was still space between them, which Tony appreciated to no end.

"Like what? Excluding the obvious of course," Gibbs added.

"It's everything," Tony exclaimed. "I shouldn't be sitting on your doorstep talking to you, I should have run at the first chance I had. And I shouldn't believe everything you say!"

"But you are," Gibbs said quietly. "You haven't tried to run, I know you've thought about it, but you haven't actually tried, and you did believe me and Ducky without seeing it for yourself. Don't you think that's saying something?"

"But what?" Tony asked in frustration.

Gibbs paused, and Tony could see he was trying to figure out how to answer. "The council doesn't pick people that can't understand this life, but sometimes they pick people who can't accept it. I think you're trying to understand everything now and maybe since you're trying to understand everything straight away instead of running, accepting it might not be as hard as you think."

"But I don't want to accept it," Tony said clenching his jaw. "Right now I feel like I'm betraying my parents and I _hate _that."

"It sounds like your parents died so that you could live," Gibbs said softly. "What if this makes you happy?"

Tony paused at that. He knew his parents would want him to be happy, hell they spent fifteen years running with him as a burden so that he could be happy, but he didn't know what they would think of this. If his parents had known everything he knew now, then he doubted they would care. But they hadn't, and Tony wasn't sure if they would hate him for being happy with the very people who they had been running from for so long.

"I don't know," Tony said eventually. "They didn't know what I know now. They'd want me to be happy, but I don't know if they'd accept me being happy living with vampires."

"I didn't know your parents," Gibbs said slowly, "But I do know that I would have accepted nearly anything Kelly did if made her happy."

"Even if she wanted to live with people you had been keeping her from her whole life?" Tony asked softly. "Even if it were people that you knew had the potential to kill her in a second, without any trouble?"

Gibbs nodded. "Even then. Especially if I found out those people weren't like I thought. If she was happy then I'd accept it."

As much as Tony didn't want to let Gibbs make him feel better, he was. He remembered a lot about his parents, and he couldn't see them hating him for _anything_. They had loved him; they had always made that very clear. He doubted his parents would have _approved_ of him being a vampire mate, but maybe they would have _accepted _it if they knew it would make him happy.

"I still don't know if this will make me happy," Tony pointed out stubbornly.

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "I know that, but if you give it a chance then at least you'll find out for sure."

Tony sighed. "I know, but it's damn hard to give it a chance."

"But you are trying," Gibbs said pointedly.

Gibbs was right, even if Tony hadn't wanted to give it a chance, he had been. He hadn't been running or fighting. He definitely hadn't been accepting or gracious, hell he had been rude as hell, but he had been trying to understand everything.

"I guess I have been," Tony said softly. "I still need to see everything," he added.

Gibbs nodded. "We'll go tomorrow. I'll get Abby as well," he decided. "She can explain better for your perspective on things."

"Ok," Tony agreed.

"You know, you don't have to sit out here," Tony said after a while. "I'm not gonna run."

"Maybe I like being out here." Gibbs shrugged. "Come out here a lot when I've got nothing to do. Or out back.

"What's out back?" Tony asked.

"Big yard," Gibbs said simply. "And a pool," he added with a frown.

Tony couldn't stop himself grinning. "You don't seem like the swimming type."

Gibbs glared at him. "I'm not. Abby had it installed when I was away at a conference."

Tony paused. "Did she get in trouble?" Tony asked cautiously.

"She paid for it," Gibbs said simply. "Doesn't really bother me. I'm not gonna use it. Wasn't exactly happy, but I wasn't gonna punish her or anything ridiculous like that."

"I thought that your kind of," Tony paused thinking of a polite way to phrase what he was thinking of, "_lifestyle_ did the whole punishment thing."

"Abby doesn't belong to me," Gibbs said slowly. "If she did then yeah, I probably would have. But if she belonged to me then hopefully she would have asked."

"I don't understand this whole _belonging to you_ idea," Tony said cautiously. "Abby and Ducky wear your band but they don't actually belong to you?"

Gibbs hesitated. "Not _really_. I think of them as mine, but not in the traditional sense of the word. I don't see them as mates in any way. They're like family; I've known them for virtually their whole lives. But I'd never ask anything sexual of them, ever."

"But why?" Tony asked. "I don't understand what you get out of it."

"You do what you can for family," Gibbs said simply. "They're my family now."

Tony hesitated. "Were they around when Shannon and Kelly were?"

"Ducky was, but not Abby," Gibbs said shortly. "Probably a good thing, I was in a bad way when they died."

Tony wanted to know how, but he wasn't sure how Gibb would react to that question, and he didn't want to anger the vampire. Gibbs was surprisingly easy to talk to, and Tony often found himself forgetting that he was even a vampire. He didn't want to create any tension, when for once he was feeling somewhat relaxed around Gibbs.

Instead he nodded. "I know what you mean," he said softly. "I barely remember the weeks after my parents' deaths."

Gibbs looked like he wanted to know more, but like Tony; he probably didn't want to cause any tension when for once nobody was arguing.

"How old are you?" Tony asked quickly.

Gibbs didn't say anything about the abrupt change in conversation. "Just over one-hundred," he said. "Not that old for a vampire."

"Pretty old compared to me," Tony said with a snort.

"Most people are pretty old compared to you," Gibbs said with a grin. "You're basically a teenager."

"Twenty-five is _not_ a teenager," Tony said indignantly.

"To me it is," Gibbs said shortly, but Tony could see he was amused. Normally he would be irritated at being referred to as a teenager, but coming from Gibbs it didn't seem so much of an insult, more of an endearment.

"Is this why people keep referring to me as 'kid'?" Tony asked.

"That and you're so damn innocent," Gibbs said. "You're pretty lucky with that."

"I didn't even notice," Tony contemplated. "Most of the time I was with people when we encountered vampires. Guess there must have been too many of us for them to spare too much attention on me. Wasn't until recently that I thought there might have been something about me that appealed."

"How'd you figure that?" Gibbs asked frowning.

"People who caught me said some stuff," Tony said, "One of them didn't want to 'sell' me, but the other said that I'd get a good price." Tony grimaced as he remembered that particular altercation; he hated being thought of as property. Remembering stuff like that reminded him of why he was so hesitant to give this a chance, even though _belonging _to Gibbs would make him a lot safer. "Does that happen a lot?" Tony asked, "People getting sold."

Gibbs sighed. "No more than it did before vampires became public, which was still too much. It's definitely not an accepted practice and vampires who are involved in it generally don't live very long."

"How do they get rid of them?" Tony asked."Is there some sort of weird vampire death penalty?"

"Not exactly," Gibbs answered. "Usually another vampire finds out and takes care of it. It's not exactly condoned, but nobody's gonna do much about it is the vampire was trafficking humans."

"What about the humans?" Tony asked softly.

"We try and find them," Gibbs said, "It's hard 'cause it's all done on the streets, so it's hard to trace. But we find some of them."

"But not all," Tony stated. It was hitting him how lucky he was that he hadn't been sold when he was first found. Hell, he was damn lucky Gibbs arrived when he had, or else Dom probably would have had him, and then sold him.

"No, not all," Gibbs said softly. "And if you're wondering about Dom and Jack, they've been dealt with."

"Dealt with how?" Tony asked. He wasn't sure how he felt about Gibbs killing vampires on his behalf. As much as he didn't want him to, Gibbs made him feel safe. He _knew _that Gibbs wouldn't hurt him, and right now that was a pretty valuable trait.

"Been arrested," Gibbs said simply. "They'll probably get jail time, and if I have my say then they'll be away for a damn long time."

Tony was surprised at the anger he saw in Gibbs' eyes, and was briefly warmed at the thought that the vampire had done that for him.

"What about the vampires that brought me in?" Tony asked hesitantly. He didn't want to make Gibbs go out of his way again, but he hated the thought of Jake and Sam still roaming the streets.

"They got caught when they tried to sell you. Auction was being staked out," Gibbs said simply. Everyone else was taken care of and sent home, or given somewhere safe to stay if they didn't have a home."

"Except me," Tony said slightly bitterly.

"Except you," Gibbs agreed. "They bought you into the council."

"Just because of my certain _attributes?" _Tony asked.

"Yeah," Gibbs answered. "It's pretty obvious to us that you're ideal as a mate, even if you are human."

"Lucky me," Tony said sullenly.

"Better than being back on the streets," Gibbs said with a shrug.

"I don't know that yet," Tony argued even though he knew that Gibbs was right. "I still need to _verify_ everything you've told me."

Gibbs actually laughed. "Alright, well once you've done your verifying then you'll agree."

"You're very certain of that," Tony said indignantly. "I might decide that I still prefer the streets."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "I doubt it."

Tony laughed emptily and shook his head. "Ok, I probably won't, but I do like being outside. Being cooped up in your house for the rest of my life, bar your job, isn't exactly appealing."

"You won't be cooped up in my house," Gibbs said in exasperation. "You'll be allowed out _once_ we've bonded and I know you won't run."

"Bonded?" Tony asked.

"Don't worry about that now," Gibbs said, "That won't come until you trust me and want this, and we both know that that's not going to happen for a while."

"Is there anything else that you're going to spring on me, or was that the last surprise?" Tony asked in irritation. "I don't think my brain can handle anymore."

"Nothing that you need to know right now," Gibbs said simply.

Tony groaned. "That's really reassuring," he said glaring at Gibbs.

"Hey I'm trying to ease you into this," Gibbs explained. "You're skittish enough as it is. I don't wanna scare you enough that you actually do decide to run."

"Is there anything that would actually make me want to run?" Tony asked cautiously.

Gibbs hesitated. "Right now, yes," he answered honestly. "But if you wanted this then, no, it wouldn't."

Tony sighed. "I don't think I want to know now. I think I'd rather pretend I knew everything, as wrong as that is."

"Nothing wrong with it," Gibbs reassured. "You've had enough dropped on you as it is. Besides, I wouldn't have told you anyway."

"Thanks," Tony said sarcastically before trying to stifle a yawn.

"You're tired," Gibbs pointed out.

"I am not going back to bed," Tony said quickly. "I'm going crazy!"

"Well you're not staying out here in the cold," Gibbs said as Tony suppressed a shiver. "Come inside at least."

Tony sighed. "I've been inside for so long."

"Well you're going outside tomorrow," Gibbs reminded him, "But if that's going to happen you need to not be sick."

"I'm not going to get sick after a couple of hours," Tony said in exasperation.

"You might since you're recovering from a period of enforced starvation," Gibbs argued. "Inside, now."

Tony grumbled even as he stood. "Fine, but I'm not going to sleep," he said as they walked back inside.

"I know," Gibbs said patiently. "You can watch the television or something."

"Really?" Tony perked up at that. He hadn't been able to watch a lot of TV, but the few times he had he'd loved it. "What movies do you have?"

"No idea," Gibbs answered. "You can look through them and see. I'm guessing you haven't watched a lot of television in the past few years?"

Tony just nodded as he was led into the living room before pausing as he took in the television and collection of movies. This was incredible; he didn't even know what to call it. There were no videos, only DVD's and Gibbs had an extensive collection.

"I'm guessing you do," Tony said in awe as he took in everything.

Surprisingly Gibbs shook his head. "I don't even know how to turn the damn thing on. Abby watched it a lot. They're her movies."

"This is amazing," Tony murmured.

Gibbs snorted. "I'll have to disagree," he said glaring at it. "I hate it; too many damn buttons."

"So you bought it for Abby?" Tony asked.

Gibbs nodded. "She hated the old one."

Gibbs just kept on surprising Tony. He didn't know a lot of people who would by a new television just because someone hated the old one.

"That was nice," Tony said eventually, unable not to acknowledge the gesture. If he had to be mated to a vampire, Gibbs was beginning to look like an ideal candidate. Even though vampire society seemed to be a lot better than Tony thought, it still seemed like the submissive mates got the worst end of the stick, and it didn't seem like anyone would bat an eyelash if the submissive wasn't a willing participant in anything that went on in the bedroom. That was something he'd have to ask Gibbs about as well, but he was reluctant to ask anything more tonight, he didn't want to receive any more complicated answers that he didn't understand. Right now Gibbs had said he wouldn't do anything that he didn't want, and that was what was important to Tony. He'd find out what the norm was tomorrow.

Gibbs actually looked affronted at Tony's answer. "I don't do nice," he said.

"What do you call that then?" Tony asked indicating towards the television.

Gibbs paused. "Self preservation," he said apparently pleased with his answer.

"You needed to protect yourself from a human," Tony said dubiously.

"You haven't met Abby," Gibbs said seriously. "She could scare anyone, male or female."

"If she can scare you then I'll have to meet her," Tony said as he rummaged through the DVD collection. "So what do you do when you're not working and being a scary vampire?"

"I build things," Gibbs answered in amusement as Tony pulled out Dracula. "You are not watching that," he added.

"Yes I am," Tony said, "Could be informative."

"That movie is ridiculous," Gibbs said in exasperation, "Can't you select something normal?"

"Nope," Tony said turning the machine on and pushing the movie in before sitting on the couch.

Gibbs sighed. "Fine, don't say I didn't warn you."

Tony had to admit pretty early on that Gibbs was right. The movie was not informative in any way. It was, however, entertaining to watch the look of distaste on Gibbs' face as he watched the movie.

Tony stopped finding it funny when they got to the more violent scenes of the movie. It surprised him how much certain parts reminded him of his parent's deaths. Even though Tony knew this was a movie, he still felt for the victims who were tortured. The terror and pain on their faces made his hands curl and his jaw clench, but Tony refused to show Gibbs that it was affecting him. Tony almost gave up during the torture scenes, but he forced himself to see it through. At one point Gibbs actually looked at him in concern and asked if he was okay, but Tony just nodded and kept on watching. His parent's deaths were nowhere near as sadistic or violent as the scenes in the movie, but Tony kept flashing back to the look on their faces.

It was obvious that Gibbs could see how uncomfortable Tony was with the movie, but he let him finish watching it in silence. When it finally finished, Tony forced back the fear and disgust he felt at the movie to deal with later. He didn't want to get into anything deep with Gibbs now.

"It wasn't that bad," Tony said eventually, but was met with silence. "Fine, it was. Happy?"

"Ecstatic," Gibbs said sarcastically. "I think Abby can take that movie to her apartment."

"Why does she need her own apartment?" Tony asked hesitantly.

"I don't want to hear her when she brings anyone home," Gibbs said firmly. "If she's gonna do that, then she can do it at her place."

"Why does it bother you?" Tony asked curiously. "She's not _really_ yours," he added.

"It just does," Gibbs answered simply. "Who wants to hear their family members having sex?"

Obviously Gibbs saw Abby as a younger sister or daughter. Tony was surprised that he was relieved. Even though he wasn't currently interested in Gibbs, he liked the sound of Abby and didn't want her to hate him already just because he was Gibbs' mate.

"Alright," Tony said pushing himself of the couch, wincing as the room spun slightly. "I'm good," he said as he saw Gibbs move closer. "Any chance I can grab some food?" he asked sheepishly, remembering his first week at Gibbs' place. "I will actually eat it," he added.

Gibbs snorted. "Good to know. I'm sure we can find you something."

Tony followed Gibbs into the kitchen and perched on the counter.

"Do you have an issue with chairs?" Gibbs asked as he stared pointedly at the stool right next to the counter.

Tony shook his head. "Nope, but I want to watch."

"You think I'm gonna poison you?" Gibbs asked in amusement as he heated up what looked like some of the soup Tony had eaten earlier.

"No," Tony admitted, "But I'd still rather watch. Better vantage point up here."

"Whatever suits," Gibbs said rolling his eyes. "But if I had poisoned this, it would be too late for you since you've already eaten it."

Tony shrugged. "Oh well. At least it was good soup."

Gibbs laughed. "Good attitude," he said in approval, and Tony was surprised to find he was pleased that he had impressed the vampire. He quickly berated himself, he shouldn't be giving a damn what Gibbs thought about him. The less Gibbs liked him the longer it would take for their relationship to progress and the longer he would have to let everything about his new life fully sink in.

Tony accepted the soup gratefully. "Can't believe I'm hungry already," he muttered. "I never ate this much before."

"Probably didn't have time to think about it," Gibbs responded. "And it's also why you're so damn skinny."

"I'm not skinny," Tony protested even though he knew it was true. "I'm lean."

"You're skinny," Gibbs argued. "Those clothes are the same size as your old ones, but they're hanging off you. We're gonna need to get you some more tomorrow," Gibbs added in annoyance. "I hate shopping."

"I can tell," Tony said, "You don't have to. I don't have any money."

"You're mine now," Gibbs said with a shrug, "I pay now. Besides, I wouldn't let you walk around in those old clothes of yours anyway."

"So that happens all the time?" Tony asked, "The _master_ pays for everything?"

"Don't call me master," Gibbs said quickly, "I don't like that word. But, yes, they do."

"What happens if I have a source of income?" Tony asked. "And what am I meant to call you?" he added.

Gibbs shook his head quickly. "No. You earn it, you keep it. Don't care what you do with it as long as it's legal. And it's just Gibbs for now."

Tony was relieved to hear that he would get to keep any money he earned. It just wouldn't sit right with him if Gibbs just took it, though Tony suspected there were quite a lot of dominant vampires who would take everything that their sub earned.

"Thanks," he said quietly before going back to his soup.

There was silence while Tony finished eating. Once he was finished Gibbs took his bowl and washed up. Tony contemplated offering to help but he couldn't be bothered. He'd offer another time.

"You need sleep," Gibbs said, startling Tony.

"Alright," Tony agreed. He didn't want to risk not going out tomorrow. "I'm going."

"Not going to get lost again?" Gibbs asked in amusement.

Tony shook his head. "Nope. I'm sure I'll manage. Night," he called out as he walked out.

"Breakfast at eight," Gibbs yelled back.

Tony glanced at the clock on his wall; he still had enough time to get in a few hours sleep, so stripped off and climbed into bed. He was both excited and nervous about tomorrow; he didn't doubt what Gibbs and Ducky had told him, but he still didn't know how he would react to seeing it in person. Tony knew that it was gonna be damn hard, but he was determined to see tomorrow through. He needed to see and understand absolutely everything possible about the world he now lived in before he could even begin to comprehend what it would _really _mean to be Gibbs' mate.

* * *

And here's chapter four! Longer than the other one; I actually had heaps of fun writing this one, so hopefully you all enjoy!

Thanks heaps to everyone who has reviewed; I wish I had time to reply to you all, but I do greatly appreciate everything you say :]

Also, a special thank you to my beta, finlaure, who helped me heaps with this chapter, and has also given me great ideas for chapter five!

Let me know what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

_Tony knew he was dreaming the moment his eyes opened. He was back in the hotel room where his parents had been murdered. Everything was exactly the same; right down to the time being displayed by the clock on the wall and the mismatched paint. Tony already knew what he was going to see the moment he walked into his parents room, but he went anyway. _

_As he got closer the screaming from the room grew louder and Tony wished he could turn away, but he couldn't. He pushed open the door and stepped in. The scene inside hurt just as much now in his nightmare as it did when he had actually been there. _

_His parents were both on the bed; the white sheets were already stained with their blood. Tony could see his mother gasping for breath as the male vampire bit down on her neck. Her eyes were glazed over and he could already see the life fading from them. His father was struggling to get to her, but the female vampire was holding him down, her nails scratching into his arms, causing more blood to trickle down onto the sheets._

_Tony stepped forward, desperate to do something even now. Even when he knew how this scene would end. A whimper from the corner made him stop and turn his head. It had come from himself. His younger self was in the corner of the room, one of his wrists tied loosely to the nightstand. Tears were streaming down his face and he was futilely trying to move forward to help his parents. Blood was streaming down his face from an open head wound and his ankle was obviously broken. _

_Tony tried to move forward again to help his parents but he couldn't. He was frozen and he was forced to watch the nightmare play out. Memories assaulted him as he remembered the pain he had been in, and how agonizing it had been to not be able to help his parents. He tried to block out the sounds of their screams, tried to think of anything but the scene in front of him, but nothing worked. _

_Finally, after what felt like forever, the life faded from his mother's eyes and the male vampire turned to his father who was now limp in the female vampire's arms gazing at his mother's lifeless body. The female vampire threw his father's body towards the male vampire who grabbed him roughly. The sound of his father's arm snapping resounded around the room causing Tony to whimper and squeeze his eyes shut. _

_He didn't want to watch this again, but his father's screaming caused him to open his eyes. He didn't even need to watch this to know exactly what was going to happen. He remembered the two vampires scratching and biting his father, squeezing at his broken arm and laughing at the noises he made. He remembered the vampires being so taken up by their bloodlust that they didn't notice when his father whispered, "run." Even at fifteen, Tony had known that his father wasn't going to survive but he hadn't been able to make himself run. _

_Tony watched the same scene play out again in front of him and saw how his younger self finally managed to free his wrist before running at the vampires. It was already too late. The male had pierced his father's neck with his teeth and was steadily drinking while the female watched on, mesmerized. It was hell watching the look on his fifteen year old self's face as he realized that both his parents were dead. It was even worse watching his younger self make the decision to run. Even now it was hard rationalizing that decision, even though he knew it had been the right thing to do. If he had stayed he would have been killed as well, and his parent's deaths would have been meaningless. _

_His younger self turned and tried to run; his ankle making it an agonizingly slow and difficult process. If the vampires hadn't been so drunk on the blood they had just had they would no doubt have gone after and caught him. As Tony watched himself run, the dream suddenly shifted and he found himself on the same bed that his parents had been on. However, instead of the two vampires that had attacked and murdered his parents, there were the three female vampires from Dracula. _

_Before Tony could even comprehend what was happening they were on him. He felt their fingers scratch into his skin while their fangs bit into him. They were biting his neck, wrists, thighs, hell they were biting anywhere that they could get their fangs into. It was agonizing, and Tony screamed out the pain and the blood was forced from his body. He kept yelling through it all struggling while he was pinned down, trying to fight until finally -_

"Tony, wake up!"

Tony forced his eyes open and gasped his throat raw from the screaming. He was being held down and all he could remember were those vampires biting into him. He struggled, trying to get free of the arms holding him down.

"Calm down," Gibbs ordered harshly. "Calm down and I'll let go, okay?"

Tony froze as he recognized Gibbs' voice and listened. He had never been one to ignore his instincts; they were what had got him through his life on the streets, and right now they were telling him to listen to Gibbs. So he did. Tony stopped fighting and let himself go limp. He could feel himself shaking, could feel the dampness on his face and could still feel his adrenaline pumping.

Gibbs pulled him up into a sitting position and ran his hand over his back, trying to soothe him. It wasn't really working. Tony knew Gibbs wasn't going to suddenly jump him, but he knew Gibbs was a vampire and right now that was at the forefront of his mind. He tried to control his breathing and calm his stomach, but it had no effect.

Tony pulled himself out of Gibbs' grasp and ran to the bathroom. He slammed the door behind him before retching into the toilet. His stomach cramped as he threw up the little food he had consumed the night before. Tony tried to ignore the dampness on his face and concentrated on clenching at the edge of the toilet to keep from falling on to it face first.

Christ, that was the _worst_ nightmare he had ever had, and he had definitely had a lot of them over the years. He'd been so exhausted and overwhelmed the past couple of weeks that the nightmares had just stayed away.

Tony sat back on his haunches and swiped his hand across his mouth; he was guessing that the nightmares wouldn't be staying hidden any longer. He wished he hadn't watched that movie. Having to relive his parent's deaths was not on his list of top things to do, and this had definitely been the most vivid recollection he'd ever had of that night. His heart was still racing, and he could still hear his parent's screams mingling with his own.

"You alright?" Gibbs asked, keeping his distance.

Tony glanced at him and shook his head. "I think that movie should definitely go back to Abby's," he said quietly lowering his eyes. He knew he shouldn't feel embarrassed, but he couldn't help it. He didn't want Gibbs to see him as weak, and screaming his lungs out from a nightmare didn't exactly make him look strong.

"I already tossed it," Gibbs offered.

"Will Abby be mad?" Tony stood shakily and grabbed onto the sink for balance before grabbing a glass of water.

"Nope," Gibbs said simply. "She'll understand."

Tony snorted. "She's gonna think I'm this scared little kid who can't handle horror movies."

"Hey," Gibbs said sharply. "No one's gonna think that. Anyone with your history would have reacted in _exactly _the same way. You wouldn't have survived on your own for so long if you couldn't handle yourself."

"But I'm not handling myself now," Tony exclaimed in frustration, his voice hitching slightly as he turned to face Gibbs. "I'm having some kind of fucking breakdown."

"You're not having a breakdown," Gibbs said in frustration. "You're getting better. For once you have people who can take care of you without fearing for their lives. Just let it happen, DiNozzo."

"And one of those people is a vampire," Tony said without thinking and felt bad when he saw the look that crossed Gibbs' face. "Sorry," he muttered. "I know you're not gonna hurt me."

"Really?" Gibbs asked quietly. "Do you really believe that?"

"I do," Tony answered honestly, surprised at how easily the answer came. "I still think that every other vampire I meet is gonna hurt me, but I don't think you will."

Gibbs looked pleased by that answer. "As long as you're with me and you're wearing my band, then no one will approach you, regardless of how appealing you are."

"You sure?" Tony asked hesitantly before cursing and looking away. Christ, he hated this so much. He hated that a fucking horror movie about vampires that was made before people even knew about them could freak him out so badly. Tony even hated how much safer he felt when Gibbs was around, and he hated that he believed Gibbs wouldn't hurt him. Tony trusted his judgment when it came to reading people, he just had to hope that he was right about Gibbs; he didn't even want to think about what would happen if he was wrong.

"Positive," Gibbs answered. "Most vampires won't go near someone's mate; it's just stupid, especially if they're human."

"Why if they're human?" Tony asked curiously, desperate to move on from his nightmare. "Actually, don't answer that if there's gonna be some more shit that's gonna freak me out. I'd rather not know right now."

Gibbs snorted. "No, actually this time the answer is about me. Vampires who have humans as mates are generally more possessive and protective than other vampires."

"That 'cause humans can't protect themselves as well?" Tony asked mildly.

Gibbs hesitated before answering. "Not necessarily," Gibbs started, "You've proven that you have no trouble surviving. Humans as a whole just have vulnerabilities that vampires don't, and so if they're gonna be bonded to a vampire it needs to be someone whose gonna keep them safe."

Tony sighed. "Makes sense," he muttered. "I hate that it makes sense."

He splashed some water over his face, ignoring Gibbs' laugh at his last comment. Tony was pleased to find that he wasn't shaking anymore and the nausea was fading. The smell of vomit wasn't helping though, so Tony flushed the toilet and washed his hands.

"Can't believe I got a nightmare that strong from a movie," Tony mumbled as he dried his hands.

"That's not the first nightmare you've had," Gibbs stated.

"Yeah," Tony said running his hands through his hair. "They've become a frequent occurrence. Normally not this bad though," he added.

"Can't say I blame yah," Gibbs said. "I think most people would be having nightmares if they were in your position."

"Even after watching Dracula?" Tony asked dubiously.

"_Especially_ after watching Dracula," Gibbs stated.

Tony narrowed his eyes. "You're just saying that to make me feel better," he said suspiciously.

"I don't lie to people to make them feel better," Gibbs said sternly. "No damn point in that. If I thought you should suck it up I would have said so."

Tony sighed. "Fine, the nightmares aren't something I need to suck up. You're gonna have to get used to _that_," Tony waved his hand indicating to the bedroom, "Happening a lot."

"Didn't it draw attention to you?" Gibbs asked slowly as they walked out of the bathroom, "the screaming?"

Tony shook his head. "I never fell into a deep enough sleep for them to really catch. But whenever I do I wake up screaming."

"This is the first time it's happened in two weeks," Gibbs stated frowning.

Tony shrugged. "I think I've been too tired for my subconscious to do anything when I'm asleep. I'm guessing those happy days are over."

"Might be able to work through them now though," Gibbs said thoughtfully. "You gonna be able to sleep again?"

Tony eyed his bed warily. "I doubt it."

"Might as well have some breakfast then," Gibbs suggested and walked out the door. Tony didn't think that was a suggestion and followed Gibbs. He was pleased that memories of the nightmare were fading, though he wasn't terribly pleased that talking to Gibbs had been the thing that helped.

"What do you want?" Gibbs asked when they walked into the kitchen. "Nothing too heavy," the vampire added.

"Toast?" Tony asked hopefully, "Unless you have any Captain Crunch?"

"Any what?" Gibbs asked incredulously.

"Captain Crunch," Tony repeated helpfully. "You know the cereal?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Thought that was for kids?"

"It's not." Tony defended himself. "Adults can like sugar too, you know."

Gibbs snorted. "Not in that quantity. Toast it is. What do you want on it?"

"Don't mind," Tony said sullenly. "Nothing will make it as good as Captain Crunch," he declared theatrically.

"It's edible," Gibbs said as he placed the bread in the toaster, "And healthier."

"You're the one who said I need to put on weight," Tony pointed out.

"I was thinking more along the lines of eating three healthy meals a day, not gorging yourself silly," Gibbs said wryly.

"I wouldn't _gorge,_" Tony said distastefully. "I can limit myself."

"I know you can," Gibbs said pointedly, looking at Tony's body. "But a sugar diet isn't really gonna make you better."

"There's nothing wrong with me," Tony said defensively.

"Undernourished, underweight, exhausted," Gibbs rattled off. "Do you want me to continue?"

"That's just your opinion," Tony said reaching for the toast that Gibbs handed him.

"Nope it's Ducky's," Gibbs said with a grin. "You gonna argue with a doctor?"

Tony sighed. "No," he said biting into his toast. "Bye bye pizza."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "You're not gonna be banned from pizza for the rest of your life, DiNozzo."

"Can I have it tonight?" Tony asked.

"I'm not gonna dictate what you have for your meals," Gibbs said with a shrug. "You can have pizza if you want. Might not be the best idea tonight though," he suggested.

"Why not?" Tony argued.

"Because you haven't eaten solid food in a while," Gibbs said. "It's probably not gonna stay down for long."

"Killjoy," Tony muttered finishing off his toast. "Good to know I can chose what I eat though," he added.

"Doesn't mean you can eat shit all the time," Gibbs said quickly. "You should get ready. We can leave when you're done."

Tony nodded, "Alright." He handed Gibbs his plate and went back to his room to get dressed.

He pulled on the same clothes that he had found yesterday. Tony was annoyed to find that his hands were trembling slightly as he tied up his shoes. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was scared shitless about leaving the house. He didn't _really _think that Gibbs would let anything happen to him but he was scared that people would try.

"You sure you wanna do this?" Gibbs asked from the doorway. "It's not gonna change; it'll still be there tomorrow."

Tony stood up and shook his head. "No. I need to go today."

Gibbs sighed, "Alright. You better tell me if anything gets to be too much, got it?"

Tony nodded. "I will. You'll probably work it out pretty quickly anyway. I haven't exactly been subtle around you," Tony said bitterly.

"I don't want you to get to breaking point," Gibbs said softly. "You don't have to push yourself. You have plenty of time to comprehend anything. No one's gonna try and push you into understanding _or_ accepting."

"I need to see," Tony said brushing past Gibbs. "I hate not knowing for sure. It makes me feel unprepared."

"Weak," Gibbs stated.

Tony stopped and tensed. "Yeah."

"You know that's not true," Gibbs said from behind him. "You're not weak, and not seeing doesn't mean you don't know. You _know _it's true deep down."

Tony sighed. "Yeah I know. But I just need to see it. I promise I'll say if it's too much."

"Alright," Gibbs agreed eventually, "Abby's on her way over now. She should be here any minute."

Tony had to admit he was quite looking forward to meeting Abby. She sounded like she had no problems with vampires, and she was closer to his age. Hopefully she would be able to help him understand everything a little more.

Tony and Gibbs walked into the foyer just as the doorbell rang.

"That'll be Abby," Gibbs said rolling his eyes at the continued ringing. "You, ah, might want to prepare yourself," he added before opening the door.

Tony didn't have enough time to think about what he was meant to be preparing himself for before he was ambushed by a whirlwind of black.

"You must be Tony!" Abby yelled into his ear as she squeezed him. Tony didn't have time to even contemplate hugging her back before she pulled away. "Shit, I'm allowed to hug him right?" she asked turning to Gibbs. "He's not off limits is he? I need someone to watch movies with!"

Gibbs snorted. "You can hug him, Abbs, just be gentle."

Abby nodded and put her hand over her heart. "I promise I'll be as gentle as I am with Major Mass Spec," she said solemnly.

"I'm not _that_ fragile," Tony said stiffly. "I won't break."

"Oh I know," Abby said quickly turning to him. "Ducky's told me heaps about you already, so I know you're like the bravest person ever, except maybe Gibbs," she added thoughtfully. "But you come a _really _close second."

Tony glanced over Abby's shoulder at Gibbs who was trying unsuccessfully to suppress a smile. "Okay then," he said hesitantly, "Just so we're clear."

"Crystal," Abby said jumping. "Are we leaving now?" she asked turning around to face Gibbs, "'Cause I've got so many places to show Tony. He has to see my lab, and all the clubs I got to, and the cinema, and the shopping malls..."

Gibbs quickly placed his hand over Abby's mouth stopping the flow of words. "We're leaving now, but we're not seeing any clubs."

"But Gibbs," Abby whined, "Tony would be the _perfect _club buddy! And I promise I wouldn't let any Dom go near him, honest."

"Abby," Gibbs said sternly. "He's not going into any clubs. There is no way that you could stop anything from happening to him."

Tony knew why Gibbs didn't want him in any clubs. It seemed like even an arm band wouldn't be enough to keep dominant vampires away from him in a club scene. He wisely decided not to argue; he hadn't been clubbing before, and it wasn't appealing to him now. A club full of dominant vampires looking for sex didn't seem like a good place for him to be.

"What about the submissives club?" Abby asked. "There's no Doms in there. And then he can meet the sub vampires and you won't have to worry about them trying to run off with him."

That sounded a lot more appealing that the other clubs so Tony looked hopefully at Gibbs.

Gibbs sighed. "We'll see," he said succinctly, "Not for another couple of weeks at least. I need to get him settled in here and at work first."

Abby nodded. "Awesome, that's good enough for me," she said happily. "Let's go!"

"Where are we going first?" Tony asked as he hesitantly followed Gibbs and Abby out the door.

"NCIS," Gibbs answered shortly, "might as well get you into a training course."

Tony brightened. "Cool," he said as he climbed in the front seat.

Abby sighed as she climbed in the back. "Guess I don't get shotgun anymore, huh Gibbs?"

Tony turned to look at her. "We can share," he offered.

"No you can't," Gibbs said abruptly. "You're in the front."

Tony paused. "Is this another weird vampire thing? The mate gets shotgun?"

Abby laughed from behind. "You are going to be so much fun," she said excitedly. "It's a protection thing. He can protect you better when you're next to him."

"Oh," Tony said intelligently. This whole being protected thing was going to take some getting used to. He was so used to protecting himself, that the idea of people protecting him for no reason was somewhat foreign. Sure, he knew his parent's had protected him, but they were his _parents_ and it was different. Gibbs was protecting him for what seemed like no reason at all. He may be Gibbs' mate, but Gibbs still didn't really know him at all. Hell, Tony didn't know if Gibbs even liked him. He just had no idea what the vampire's motivations were.

Gibbs pulled out of the driveway and speed down the road, turning abruptly whenever a corner arose.

"Aren't you scared?" Abby asked him from behind. "Usually people are begging to be let out of the car by now."

"Why?" Tony asked confused, and was surprised at the grin that arose unexpectedly on Gibbs' face.

"Oh you are so perfect," Abby said happily from behind. "This is great. I wish they'd found you years ago."

"Abby," Gibbs said warningly.

Tony found it somewhat amusing that Gibbs was making such an effort to stop him being scared off. Again, he didn't know why; it wasn't like he could escape even if he did get completely freaked out.

"I might have been a bit young then," he said hesitantly.

"They wouldn't have made you mate with Gibbs, silly," Abby laughed. "They would have let you guys hang and let Gibbs take care of you sometimes, but nothing would happen until you were eighteen."

"I wouldn't have _wanted_ you as a mate until you were eighteen," Gibbs added. "I would have seen you differently before then."

"He still would have wanted to protect you and wouldn't have been happy if you had dated, but you wouldn't have been _his _as such," Abby continued.

"This is so weird," Tony said somewhat dazed. "Not entirely sure I understand that."

"Doesn't matter right now," Gibbs said before Abby interrupted. "What might have happened isn't important."

Tony sighed and let his head rest against the window. He was still tired which only served to piss him off. He knew he could fall asleep in the car, but he was too nervous that he would revisit his nightmare, and he _really _did not want to do that in front of Abby and Gibbs. There was also that small, hated part of him that wanted to impress Gibbs, and screaming because of a movie wasn't a good way to go about it.

"When are you giving Tony his armband?" Abby asked Gibbs.

"When he's not sick," Gibbs answered.

"What about his collar?" Abby asked cheekily causing Tony to wince and glance at Gibbs.

"When he's ready, Abby," Gibbs said in a low growl.

Tony doubted many people kept talking when Gibbs used that tone of voice, but Abby apparently wasn't fazed.

"So when do you think you'll be ready, Tony?" she asked.

Tony wasn't sure how answer simply because he didn't know the answer. "Um, I dunno," he said slowly.

"Abby!" Gibbs barked, "Stop."

Abby ignored him. "I know you don't like vampires, and I totally get why and we can have heaps of movie nights whenever you get sad with popcorn and chick flicks," she gushed, "But Gibbs is a total sweetie; he's nothing like all the vampires you've met."

"I know," Tony said quietly before Gibbs could say anything. "Knowing he's different doesn't really change how I feel about it though. I don't know that I can _belong_ to someone like that."

"You're already kind of doing it," Abby responded quietly from behind. "It's not quite the same, but it's a start."

"Enough, Abby," Gibbs said sternly. "He doesn't have a time limit. It'll happen when it happens."

"I know," Abby said brightly. "I'm just making sure he knows you're not as grumpy as you seem. And we're here!" she exclaimed bouncing out of the car.

Tony couldn't help but smile as he watched her, "A sweetie, huh?" Tony said with a small grin. "That's news to me."

"Abby has a slightly different view of me than most people," Gibbs growled, but Tony could see how much he liked Abby.

"Yeah, well apparently you don't even do 'nice'," Tony quoted, "But I know that's wrong, so I think I'm gonna take her word on it."

Tony found it remarkably easy to tease Gibbs, and he realized that somehow in the past two weeks Gibbs being a vampire had become a somewhat minor detail. He sometimes had to forcefully remind himself that Gibbs was a vampire, and even then Gibbs would quickly dispel any fears Tony had. However, that seemed to be a trait that was unique to Gibbs only. Tony could already feel the nerves building up as he looked out the car window at the people leaving and entering the NCIS building. Just knowing that some of those people were vampires made him feel sick.

He looked up to see Gibbs looking at him expectantly, "You alright?" Gibbs asked.

Tony nodded, "Fine."

It was obvious Gibbs wasn't convinced, but he exited the car regardless. Tony took a deep breath before following.

"We'll visit the Director first," Gibbs said brusquely as they walked into the building. "Then you can meet the team."

"Okay," Tony agreed quietly, sticking close to Gibbs. "Who's on your team?" he asked. He didn't want to meet Gibbs' team unawares; he wanted to know exactly who was a vampire, if there were any, and who wasn't.

Gibbs apparently knew exactly what Tony wanted to know and why. "There's Stan Burley," he started. "He's a submissive vampire, unmated. Then Chris Pacci, he's human and married."

"I'm guessing that there's only one dominant vampire to a team?" Tony hedged.

Gibbs nodded. "If any," he added. "There are fewer vampires than humans, though granted a lot of vampires are involved in law enforcement. There are around four teams that have a dominant vampire. Don't know how many submissives there are," Gibbs finished.

"So there are more humans here?" Tony asked.

Gibbs nodded. "Yeah. There's always at least one vampire on each team, though there are more submissives here. FBI's got a lot of dominants."

"Any reason?" Tony asked.

Gibbs shook his head. "FBI has more influence than NCIS; only reason I can think of."

They walked into the elevator, and Gibbs hit the stop button almost as soon as they started moving. Tony stepped backwards instinctively. He might be feeling more comfortable around Gibbs than he wanted, but being in this close proximity to him definitely was out of his comfort zone.

"I haven't lured you in here to drink your blood," Gibbs said, and Tony was relieved that the vampire wasn't making fun of his nerves.

"I know," Tony said defensively. "It's just a reaction."

"I know," Gibbs said quickly. "But reassuring you isn't gonna do any harm. I just wanna quickly talk to you about Stan."

"What about him?" Tony asked nervously.

Gibbs sighed and looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Stan has a bit of a _crush_," Gibbs said spitting the word out distastefully. "He won't do anything," he quickly reassured, "But he might not be the nicest person."

Tony snorted. "Great. As long as he doesn't try and eat me, I don't really care."

Gibbs grinned. "I didn't think you would. I think Stan's gonna be the one getting a surprise."

"He thinks I'm gonna already be in your bed and wearing your collar," Tony guessed.

Gibbs nodded. "Oh yeah."

"He's not gonna try and order me around 'cause he's your second, is he?" Tony demanded.

"Nah. Only person you have to listen to is me. And you're not gonna be working with anyone but me." Gibbs flicked the switch and the elevator shuddered back into motion.

Tony wasn't pleased about having to listen to anyone, but if he had to he definitely wanted it to be Gibbs.

Tony stuck close to Gibbs as they exited the elevator, but glared at the people who paused as they exited, especially at those whose eyes widened at the lack of a collar.

"You're not gonna make any friends doing that," Gibbs commented.

"I don't care," Tony said stubbornly. "I don't want people staring at me all the time." He was hoping Gibbs, or any other vampires hadn't noticed how his heart was racing, but knowing Gibbs he would have.

Gibbs snorted. "You're probably gonna have to get used it," he said glancing at Tony, "Especially since you're not wearing a collar. People are gonna talk."

"Can't I just wear a fake one?" Tony suggested, but backtracked when he saw the way Gibbs' eyes darkened, "Or not."

"If you're wearing my collar, it's gonna be for real," Gibbs said.

Tony didn't respond, and they walked in silence until they reached what Tony guessed was Gibbs' work area.

"Pacci! Burley!" Gibbs barked, "Over here. This is DiNozzo," he said abruptly once they were in front of his desk.

Tony stuck out his hand and tried to control his breathing. He had no idea which one was Burley.

"I'm Chris Pacci," the brunette agent said grasping his hand and shaking. "I'm guessing DiNozzo isn't your first name."

"It's Tony," he said. "Gibbs does seem to have a way with words, doesn't he?"

Gibbs slapped the back of his head, causing Tony to look at him in shock. "Hey," he exclaimed indignantly.

"I say what needs to be said," Gibbs stated firmly.

"Sure," Tony muttered rubbing his head, "Whatever you say."

Pacci laughed. "I think we'll get along fine," he said grinning. "I'm just gonna take some stuff down to Abby, Boss."

Gibbs nodded. "From the case you worked with Robertson?"

Pacci nodded. "Just gotta get the evidence to Abby. Looks open and shut."

"Good," Gibbs said succinctly while grabbing some files from his desk.

Tony moved slightly closer to Gibbs even as he turned to face Burley. He wasn't expecting the other vampire to be pleased to see him, but he wasn't expecting the raw _hatred_ that he saw. But Tony hadn't survived living on the streets for ten years by showing his fear of vampires, so he stuck out his hand.

"Guess we're gonna be working together," he said wincing at the anger present in the submissive vampire's eyes.

"Guess so," Burley said with a forced smile, grabbing his hand strongly.

Tony winced as Burley's hand squeezed his; it was apparent Burley was letting him know who was boss. Of course, Tony _really_ didn't like being reminded that vampires were stronger than him; he was already aware of it, he didn't need it being rubbed in his face.

"Are you alright?" he asked politely. "You look a little unwell. Maybe you should take the day off, I'm sure we can handle everything here, right, _Boss_?" Tony asked looking over his shoulder at Gibbs.

He hissed when Burley squeezed his hand even harder, hissing, "I'm _fine_."

Gibbs heard his hiss and stood, and Burley quickly let go.

"You got a problem with Tony, Stan?" Gibbs asked his voice low and dangerous.

Burley shook his head. "No problem, Boss," he answered cheerfully. Tony was surprised at how different Burley appeared when he was speaking to Gibbs. Maybe it was a little more than a crush.

"In that case, go and help Pacci. Nothin' for you to do up here," Gibbs ordered.

"What are you doing?" Burley asked.

"Getting DiNozzo's paper work," Gibbs answered.

"I always wanted to be an agent," Tony said happily watching Burley's reaction. He doubted Burley was as pleased to be working with him as Gibbs was.

Burley gave him a strangled smile. "So you'll be my new Probie? Should be fun."

"Actually he is gonna be _my _Probie," Gibbs said moving out from behind his desk and standing next to Tony. "He'll be working with me."

"So I'm gonna be working with Pacci now?" Burley asked sounding pissed.

"Well yeah, Stan," Gibbs said angrily. "Did you think I was gonna leave my _mate _alone with a human while in the field?"

For a moment Tony thought that Gibbs was insulting Pacci, but he quickly realized that that wasn't the case. The simple fact was that Gibbs was the best candidate to protect Tony, and since Tony was Gibbs's mate that was exactly what he was gonna do. Not that Tony was complaining. He didn't really want to be alone with Burley or Pacci at a crime scene. Pacci simply couldn't do much if a vampire was set on killing him, and Burley looked like he wouldn't help at all.

"Of course not, Boss," Burley said quickly. "I'm gonna go down to Abby's."

Tony felt kind of bad for Burley as he left. He didn't understand the mechanics of dating and mates in vampire society, but it was obvious that Burley wasn't mated and that he wanted Gibbs. Tony was a little surprised that Gibbs didn't want Burley; he was a submissive vampire after all and they worked together. They must get along somewhat in order to work together as a team.

"Why wasn't he picked for your mate?" Tony asked once Burley was out of ear shot.

Gibbs looked surprised. "That would have been an absolute disaster."

"Why?" Tony asked surprised.

"Because Burley's not my type," Gibbs answered slowly. "He's a different kind of sub."

"A different kind of sub," Tony repeated blankly. "There are types?"

Gibbs nodded. "Stan's too easy. He'd do everything I asked, but I don't think he could take everything I'd want him too. I need someone stronger."

"That doesn't make sense," Tony said in frustration. "Wouldn't he take everything you want him too? Isn't that the point?"

Gibbs shook his head. "No," he said softly. "Everyone has limits; his just wouldn't suit the lifestyle that I want to lead. Oh, I don't doubt that he could take the physical stuff – he doesn't have a problem with pain, it's emotional for him. I don't think he could give me _everything_."

"But you think I can?" Tony asked dubiously.

"I don't think you could give anything less," Gibbs said softly. "Maybe Stan could with someone else, but definitely not with me."

"He doesn't think that," Tony said with a grin.

"He'll learn," Gibbs said with a shrug. "You didn't seem to care that he was a vampire."

"No, I did," Tony argued, "But there's no point acting scared and shying away. That wouldn't have done me any good."

"So you baited him instead," Gibbs stated.

"Yup," Tony said. "It makes me feel better."

Gibbs shrugged. "Whatever works, I guess. Come on, we're meeting the director."

"He a vampire?" Tony asked.

Gibbs nodded. "Yup; dominant. He's got a mate though; been with her for twenty odd years."

Tony took a deep breath. He hated how nervous he was, it was getting worse now that more people were showing up, and he had no idea who was a vampire. "Why can't you guys leave your fangs extended?" he complained. "It would make my life so much easier."

"We don't want to draw attention to ourselves," Gibbs said mildly. "We're trying to integrate humans and vampires; having our fangs out all the time will make that a hell of a lot harder."

"Isn't nearly always mating vampires together contradicting that a little?" Tony asked hesitantly.

"Not really," Gibbs said as they walked up towards the director's office. "Humans and vampires just don't usually mix well like that. Doesn't mean we can't be friends."

Friend definitely wasn't a word Tony associated with vampires. If anyone had told him a month ago that he would be living with a vampire, and not hating it, Tony would have punched them in the face. He wasn't sure what Gibbs was; Tony didn't see him as a friend, it was too soon for that, but he couldn't stop himself from liking the vampire. Gibbs had done too much for him not too; he had tolerated everything Tony had done that first week and respected him.

"Never thought humans and vampires were friends," Tony said quietly. "It's a weird concept to me."

"I know," Gibbs said simply. "Right now I'm gonna take you not hating me."

"Kind of hard to hate you when you keep being nice to me," Tony said with an exaggerated sigh.

Gibbs laughed. "I wouldn't have said I was being _nice_. Just patient."

"You have an issue with the word nice," Tony stated as they stopped outside the director's office.

Gibbs ignored him. "You ready?"

Tony nodded, "Yeah. I'm good."

He wasn't good as such. He remembered everything Gibbs had said about why he was so appealing to dominant vampires, and meeting another dominant vampire made him nervous as hell.

Tony followed Gibbs into the Director's office, and stood directly next to Gibbs.

"Director Morrow," Gibbs started, "This is Anthony DiNozzo."

Tony stepped forward and held out his hand. "Sir," he said formally trying to control his breathing. Tony didn't think he was fooling anyone, but hopefully they would just act like he wasn't scared shitless.

Morrow stood and grabbed his hand firmly. "Pleased to meet you," he said before glancing over his shoulder at Gibbs. "You are one lucky son of a bitch, Gibbs," he said laughing as he sat back down. "I don't doubt that this one's gonna give you a run for your money though. Good to see the council finally got their heads out of their asses when it came to you."

Gibbs gave a wry smile. "He's definitely different than the others, I'll give you that."

"That a good thing or a bad thing?" Tony interrupted.

"Oh that's definitely a good thing," Morrow said with a laugh. "Now I'm guessing you're here to get that paperwork sorted for him?"

Gibbs nodded. "Yes sir," he said handing over the file.

Tony had to admit Morrow didn't seem bad. Hell, Burley wasn't even that bad, he was just petulant and Tony reckoned even humans would be petulant if he was in his position. Tony hadn't really doubted Gibbs when he said it was like this even though he probably should have, but seeing it still made him angry.

"Can I wait outside?" he asked Gibbs suddenly.

Gibbs looked at him speculatively. "Alright," he answered eventually. "I need to talk with the Director about a few things. I'll be out in a few."

"Thanks," Tony muttered as he turned on his heel and walked out.

He was surprised by the amount of anger he suddenly felt, and he had a sudden urge to hit the wall. Tony clenched his fists; it wouldn't help him any if he drew anymore attention to himself. He was angry enough as it was, Tony didn't want to know what he would be like if he was confronted by people who could be vampires.

It hurt to realize what his parent's could have had. Tony looked down at all the people in the Bullpen; there was a complete mixture of humans and vampires, and Tony couldn't tell which was which. No one was attacking anyone. If Tony hadn't known that there were vampires he would have said that everyone was human. Tony wished _so badly_ that his parents had known that it was like this. He hated to think that they had lived their lives believing that running was the only way. Tony felt his eyes burn with tears and blinked fiercely to stop them from spilling over. Gibbs had been right about one thing, his parents _would _have wanted him to be happy. And right now Gibbs was probably his best chance at being happy. Sure, he probably could be happy if he went out into this new world by himself. He'd probably meet some nice girl and settle down, but the fact of the matter was he couldn't have that. Normally that would anger him, but right now Tony just felt uncertain. Gibbs and Ducky had been right so far, Tony didn't want to walk away from this just yet. He was certain that if he really, _really_ hated it Gibbs would let him leave, because chances were if he hated it enough to leave, Gibbs probably wouldn't be getting anything out of it either.

He'd wait it out for now, Tony decided. See where things went, and get used to everything before he really thought about being Gibbs' mate.

"You alright?" Tony heard Gibbs ask from behind him.

Tony turned and gave a small smile, "Yeah. It's just a little overwhelming, you know?"

Gibbs nodded. "I thought it would be. But at least you know now, right?"

"Yeah," Tony agreed. "Would still be nice to know who's a vampire and who isn't though," he said hopefully. "Or else I'm gonna be jumpy around everyone."

Gibbs rolled his eyes and snorted, "Alright. I'm sure that can be arranged."

Tony was relieved that Gibbs hadn't laughed or belittled him. He didn't really think that these vampires would attack him, but he'd still like to know who the vampires were. And he definitely wanted to know the dominant vampires; he remembered everything Gibbs had said about his appeal to dominants and he was determined not to be caught alone with one unaware.

"Thanks," he said gratefully. "We gonna see Abby now?"

Gibbs nodded. "Yeah. Her then Ducky."

"Burley and Pacci still down there, you think?" Tony asked hesitantly. He wasn't sure he wanted to deal with Burley right now. Though he had to admit he had fun riling him up.

"Probably not," Gibbs said. "They'd have gone with Robertson."

Tony inwardly cheered and followed Gibbs down to the elevator. They arrived at Abby's lab to the sound of blaring music, which really didn't even sound like music, more like screaming.

"What the hell is that?" Tony yelled.

Gibbs shrugged. "It's Abby."

Tony once again was almost knocked of his feet by Abby as she raced to hug him.

"See," she yelled into his ear, "Nobody's gonna eat you. Except bad guys," she added thoughtfully. "But Gibbs can look after you, so that's fine."

Tony couldn't help but relax slightly into her embrace. It was nice to have someone like her around. Her bubbly nature was infectious, he could see many move nights in their future.

"He's gonna have to work on keeping his mouth shut," Gibbs said sternly. "I don't want to have to keep getting into fights with vampires, submissive or dominant, because you keep aggravating them."

"Gibbs," Abby said shaking her head. "Tony wouldn't do that. He's a sweetie."

"Oh yes he would and does," Gibbs argued tugging gently on her pigtail. "And you think everyone's a sweetie."

"Just the people I like," Abby said sweetly sticking out her tongue.

Tony grinned; it was nice to be accepted so fast. "I think Gibbs is a sweetie too, Abby," he said cheekily.

Gibbs slapped his head again. "DiNozzo," he growled before Abby whacked his arm.

"Gibbs," she said shocked. "You can't hit him already! He's not ready."

"It doesn't hurt," Gibbs argued.

"Yes it does," Tony said rubbing the back of his head. "Make him stop, Abby," he implored.

"Gibbs," Abby said sternly.

"Suck it up, DiNozzo," Gibbs said with a glare. "Or I'll make you help Ducky with autopsy."

"It doesn't hurt," Tony said quickly.

"Good." Gibbs nodded in satisfaction. "Abby you don't have anything pressing do you?"

Abby shook her head. "DNA results for Roberson's gonna take twelve hours. Other than that, no. I'm good to go," she said beaming. "We gonna see Ducky?"

Gibbs nodded. "He wants to see how DiNozzo's doing."

"Huh?" Tony asked stupidly.

"Have you forgotten your little starvation stunt?" Gibbs growled. "Cause we sure as hell haven't."

"Oh. That," Tony muttered. "I feel fine though," he added more loudly. "We don't need to bother Ducky."

"Yeah we do, Tony," Gibbs said a tad more gently. "Come on."

Tony sighed, "Fine."

He followed Gibbs to autopsy while trying to explain to Abby about his stint without food seeing as apparently she hadn't been informed of that. It sounded pretty damn stupid when he talked about it out loud, but at the time it had definitely seemed like a good idea.

"But you're eating now?" Abby asked. "No problems."

"I'm eating," Tony answered slowly. "I've still got some issues."

"They'll pass," Gibbs said firmly, and Tony didn't doubt him. He had been surprised at how fast he'd been adapting to living with Gibbs, but he was accepting it now. It wouldn't surprise him if he got used to this merged society of vampires and humans faster than he'd originally thought. Or wanted.

Tony couldn't deny that he still felt guilty for beginning to accept vampires. Hell, he felt guilty for accepting _Gibbs_. That being said, he couldn't stop it from happening, and he wasn't sure he wanted to. He was starting to realize he couldn't condemn all vampires because of the ones he had met on the streets. It was like there were two worlds, and the vampires in this world definitely weren't the same as the vampires in the other.

"Yeah I think they will," Tony said quietly feeling more at peace than he had since this whole thing had started. He didn't doubt that there would be many more issues that would arise, but at least for now he was beginning to move forward. 

* * *

Hi guys, sorry for the late update! The only excuse I have is that this chapter is around 2500 than all my other chapters, so took a lot longer to write. :] The good news is that this chapter is so long because I had so much to write, so hopefully it will pass on to future chapters. Thanks heaps to my speedy beta, Finlaure, and also to all the people who have been reviewing, it's greatly appreciated.

Hopefully I'll be able to update faster this week, but if I don't then don't worry, I will _definitely _be completing this story!

Hope you all enjoy!


	6. Chapter 6

Tony wasn't afraid to admit that he was relieved when they finally managed to leave autopsy. For one, it was a little unnerving to be in a room that had housed hundreds of dead people. For another, Ducky had insisted on giving him a full physical, and while Abby had been made to stand outside, Gibbs hadn't which meant the vampire was privy to all the scars that littered Tony's body. Tony could tell the vampire was trying his best to hold in his anger, but Tony could see from the lines around his mouth and the hardening of his eyes that the vampire was pissed.

It was still impossible for Tony to understand why Gibbs cared _so_ much, especially as he hadn't even known Tony when any of the scars had been made. Thankfully, neither he nor Ducky commented and Tony was able to get the physical over and done with.

They were on their way to the mall, which Tony wasn't too keen on, but Gibbs had insisted that he needed clothes that fitted. Abby was determined to take him to all her favorite shops, though thankfully Gibbs had said she wasn't allowed to dress Tony as a Goth.

"I still think black is a really good color on you," Abby said from the back seat.

"Black is a good color on _everyone_," Tony argued causing Gibbs to snort.

"So not true," Abby argued. "I'll show you people who don't look good in black. Though you'll definitely suit green as well."

Gibbs sighed. "Abs, I don't care what color clothes they are as long as they fit."

"Oh, Gibbs," Abby said pityingly. "You have _no idea_. Trust me, there are gonna be some clothes that you are going to make sure come home."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "I don't think so."

"You might not care what color the clothes are, but I do," Tony interjected. "I don't want to come home looking like a candy cane."

"Red is definitely not your color," Abby piped up from behind. "And that is a good thing," she added slyly.

"Why?" Tony asked curiously.

"We're here," Gibbs said abruptly as the car stopped.

Abby was out of the car before Tony could even comprehend they'd stopped.

"Come on," she said opening his door and grabbing his arm.

"Seatbelt," Tony yelped as he was tugged out of the car. Abby let go long enough for him to quickly extract himself from the car, but quickly grabbed his arm again.

"This is going to be great," she said happily. "You're gonna love this."

"I'm not too sure about that," Tony muttered, glancing at Gibbs who looked indifferent. Walking into NCIS was one thing; it was a federal agency filled with people who could protect him if need be. This was a shopping mall. Tony didn't even want to comprehend the number of vampires that would be inside.

"It'll be fine," Gibbs said quietly.

"I know," Tony said with more confidence than he felt. He wished that this could be as easy for him as it was for Abby, but he doubted that would ever be the case. He'd grown up too differently to ever be truly comfortable around vampires. Gibbs would probably be the only vampire that he could trust, and he still didn't know if he could do that.

Abby suddenly stopped and Tony almost walked into her. "What?" he asked.

She looked at him biting her lip. "I keep forgetting how different this is for you," she said softly. "How hard it is. You hide it so well; if I didn't know about you then I would never have guessed how uncomfortable you were."

Tony shrugged. Uncomfortable was not the right word at all to describe how he was feeling; downright terrified would be more apt. "That's a good thing," Tony said, "I don't want people knowing about me."

"We don't have to go shopping," Abby offered. "I can take your measurements and get you some clothes another time."

"No way," Tony said quickly. "I think I'd rather go in than let you go wild doing my clothes shopping."

"I'd make sure you looked hot," Abby said cheekily. "Leather would be a good look on you."

Gibbs growled. "Abby. No leather."

Abby sighed. "That's just because you wouldn't be able to work with him if he was wearing it," she laughed and grabbed Tony's arm again, linking it through her own. "Don't worry, Tony, someday we'll go shopping, just us two, and we can get you as much leather as you want."

Tony couldn't help but laugh. The look on Gibbs' face was priceless; the vampire looked pissed, though Tony doubted he was actually mad at Abby. "Sure, Abbs," he said conversationally. "We can go leather shopping sometime."

Abby grinned and dragged them straight into a store that was filled with studded collars and tight leather pants.

"Abby," Gibbs warned. "No leather."

"Sit," Abby ordered. "Trust me, this shop has great shirts. You're with me," she said motioning for Tony to follow her.

Tony looked over his shoulder helplessly at Gibbs who shrugged. "I thought you were supposed to protect me," Tony accused.

"If you need it," Gibbs replied succinctly.

Tony sighed as Abby dragged him off to look at brightly colored shirts.

"I thought leather was going to wait?" Tony asked accusingly.

"It is," Abby said. "I meant it; this shop has amazing shirts. And jeans." Tony looked around while Abby sifted through the shirts. "Green," she declared pulling one out. "And grey and white."

Tony was too busy scanning the shelves to pay much attention. "What about that one?" he asked. "The light blue one?"

Abby glanced up and grinned. "It's perfect," she said happily. "You totally have an eye for clothes."

Tony snorted but grabbed the shirt anyway.

"Pants," Abby ordered. "Then we'll try them all on."

Tony swallowed uncomfortably and nodded. Abby dragged them over to the jeans and proceeded to discard every pair until she found two; a black pair and a dark blue pair. Both looked very tight.

"Are you sure they're gonna fit?" Tony asked doubtfully. "'Cause I gotta say, they look really tight."

"They're meant to be tight," Abby said dismissively snagging another pair of black pants off the shelf. "Come on, you can try them on now."

They walked over to the changing room where Gibbs was sitting. Tony looked helplessly at Gibbs and Abby shoved him into a stall. Trying on the clothes was a nightmare; especially as one of the pairs of pants was in fact made of leather. Gibbs had moved away from the stall and over to the counter halfway through, much to Abby's delight.

"You're too hot for him to handle," she exclaimed. "Try on the leather ones now."

"That's not what I want to hear," Tony hissed, flushing inside the stall. "And I am _not _trying on the leather pants."

"Please," Abby whined. "We don't have to let Gibbs see. I'll just have a quick look."

Tony sighed. "Fine, but they're going back on the shelf after."

It took a good five minutes to get the pants on, and when he finally did he wanted to take them off straight away. They molded to every inch of his legs and crotch. Tony refused to turn around and see what they did to his ass.

"I am not coming out," he declared. "No way."

"I'll come in," Abby warned.

Tony quickly leant against the door, hoping that would be enough to deter her. It wasn't. Soon enough he saw black pigtails under the stall door, followed by the rest of Abby's head.

"Abby!" Tony yelped. "Out!"

"Oh my gosh, they're perfect. If you don't buy them I will," she warned pulling her head out.

Tony sighed and quickly extracted himself from the pants and put on his old clothes before exiting the stall. He shoved the pile of new clothes into Abby's hands.

"You try getting Gibbs to buy those pants," he dared, knowing there was no way Gibbs would let them leave the shop.

"I have his credit card," Abby said with a grin bouncing away.

Tony sighed. "Damnit," he muttered. Hopefully Gibbs would just toss the pants.

"Can I help you?"

Tony spun round to find a male shop assistant staring at him appreciatively.

"No thank you," Tony said politely. "I'm done."

"Are you sure?" the assistant said moving closer. "I'm sure there's _something_ I can help you with." To Tony's horror the guy let his eyes roam obviously over his body, lingering on his crotch, before licking his lips.

"No, there's really nothing," Gibbs said from behind him.

The assistant blanched and stepped backwards. "Sorry," he said quickly, "I didn't know he was taken. I'll just leave, now."

"You do that," Gibbs said sternly.

"What was up with him?" Tony asked still shocked from the assistant's blatant display of want.

"He wanted to have sex with you," Gibbs said simply, but Tony could see he wasn't pleased about it.

"Well, I got that part, Gibbs," Tony huffed, "I meant, why?"

"Have you already forgotten that conversation about your appeal to dominants?" Gibbs demanded.

Tony opened his mouth in shock. "He was a _dominant_?"

Gibbs looked amused. "Yup."

"Shit," Tony muttered, "I didn't even think he was a vampire. Are you sure?" he asked suspiciously.

Gibbs nodded. "Not all dominant vampires are obviously so. A lot are only dominant in the bedroom; not so much in their everyday lives."

Tony was still reeling from the fact that he'd just been propositioned by a dominant vampire and lived. "Wow," he said still shocked. "He didn't try and make me do anything."

"Most dominants respect subs," Gibbs said simply. "He would have backed off if you said no, even if I hadn't been here."

Tony looked up to see Abby hovering behind Gibbs. "Ready?" he asked.

"You're lucky you weren't wearing those pants," Abby said with a grin. "He might have gone down on you there and then."

"Abby!" Tony yelled at the same time as Gibbs asked, "What pants?"

"Never you mind, Gibbs," Abby said sweetly. "Lunch? I'm hungry."

Gibbs sighed but nodded Tony followed them to a small cafe before they left to the hospital. This was what Tony was most nervous about. Seeing humans donating their blood. He felt his hands sweat as they walked in the hospital entrance; he was still half expecting to see humans tied up and having blood drained from their bodies.

However, when they walked into the hospital it was just like what any normal hospital was like. Clean, with people sitting around in the waiting room looking bored while the receptionist nattered away on the phone to someone who obviously wasn't a patient.

Gibbs walked up to the front desk, and the receptionist quickly ended her call.

"How can I help you?" she asked.

"I need to show him where blood donations happen," Gibbs said gruffly. "He doesn't understand how it all works."

The receptionist looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"He lived out on the streets," Abby said sadly grabbing Tony's hand. "Today's his first day ever meeting vampires who won't attack him. He's terrified that everyone's going to try and attack him." Abby sniffed. "We want to show him how it really is."

Tony quickly cottoned on to what Abby was doing and put on the saddest face he could muster while trying to appear terrified, which wasn't really all that hard. He _was _terrified; he just normally wouldn't let it show.

"Oh you poor thing," the receptionist exclaimed. "I'll take you through straight away. My name's Sally, by the way," she said leaving her desk and leading them down the hall.

"Tony" he said softly keeping his eyes lowered.

"You don't have to be scared of me, Sweetie," Sally said chirpily. "I'm not a vampire."

"That's good," Tony mumbled, not entirely lying.

"In here," she said opening the door. The nurse inside looked up curiously, but Sally brushed past and explained the situation.

The nurse looked shocked, but she recovered quickly. "Are you alright with some people watching, Justin?" she asked the patient.

Justin looked confused but nodded. "Yeah, I don't care."

"Alright." The nurse looked at Tony. "If you want to come over here," she said motioning next to her. Tony walked over and watched as she gently inserted the needle into Justin's arm. The blood instantly started flowing into the bag attached to the end of the syringe. Justin just looked bored with the whole process.

"Does it hurt?" Tony couldn't help but ask.

"Are you joking?" Justin asked curiously, but quickly backtracked when he noticed Gibbs and Abby glaring at him. "Can't feel a thing," he said helpfully.

Once the first bag was full the nurse quickly attached another and proceeded to fill that one.

"That's a lot of blood," Tony whispered.

"There's a lot of blood in the human body," the nurse supplied helpfully. "And you're constantly producing more blood cells. Justin won't notice anything different."

Tony swallowed and walked back over to Gibbs. "We can go now," he whispered.

Gibbs nodded and they quickly left the hospital, Tony almost collapsing into the front seat. His mind was racing with what he had seen. Deep down he had known it would be exactly like Gibbs and Ducky had said, but there had still been that doubt.

"Where to?" Gibbs asked quietly.

"I don't care," Tony answered. "Just drive."

Tony was exhausted when they walked in the front door of Gibbs' house. They'd dropped Abby at her apartment, though Tony suspected that might have been Gibbs' doing as opposed to Abby actually wanting to stay there. He had tried to keep up the constant chatter with Abby and appear as if he was fine and that his entire world view wasn't being proven wrong before his eyes. Tony didn't think he had fooled Gibbs for a minute. Thankfully Gibbs had put a stop to the trip after the hospital; Tony didn't think he could have taken any more.

Although he was exhausted, Tony didn't think he could actually _sleep_. His mind was still buzzing with all the things he had seen. Humans willingly donating their blood. Vampire shop assistants assisting humans with what clothes to wear. Two teenagers, one human and one vampire, making out at a park as if there was nothing wrong with what they were doing, and as far as they were concerned there wasn't. All these people had grown up _knowing_ that the majority of vampires wouldn't hurt them; they had grown up knowing that there was a possibility they would be mated to a vampire, however rare, and they accepted it. He, however, had been thrown in the deep end and it felt like he was drowning.

Tony thought he had been doing well accepting the way the world actually was, but now he felt like he was back at square one. He didn't want to see any vampires (excluding Gibbs, because as far as Tony was concerned, Gibbs wasn't a vampire) he just wanted to sit there and be angry at them.

"You did good today," Gibbs commented as he led Tony into the kitchen. Tony wasn't surprised that Gibbs was going to try and pile more food into him.

Tony sighed. "Didn't feel that way. I thought I'd moved on from hating vampires, but today at the hospital, it felt like I hated them as strongly as ever, present company excluded," Tony added. "And I shouldn't hate them; they haven't done anything to me."

Tony's melancholy mood quickly dissipated to anger when Gibbs started to laugh. "How the hell is this funny," he demanded angrily. "I thought you were supposed to be supportive, not making fun of the shit I'm going through."

Gibbs just shook his head, still laughing slightly. "That's just it, Tony," he said when he stopped chuckling. "The shit you're going through now is nothing like I thought it would be. I was expecting years before you'd stop looking at me like I was going to kill you, and instead it's taken you what, three weeks? I was expecting at least three _years_ before you'd even consider accepting this world but you did it in three _weeks_. You've surprised the hell out of me, and that doesn't happen often," Gibbs added with a smirk.

"So I'm taking this better than expected," Tony surmised.

Gibbs snorted. "That's the understatement of the century."

"Kind of feels like it's a bad thing," Tony said looking away from Gibbs. "Feels like I should be fighting more for my old beliefs, for my parent's beliefs."

Gibbs sighed and put his hand on Tony's shoulder, squeezing gently. "It's kind of hard to do that when you've been faced with overwhelming evidence that those beliefs were wrong. I doubt your parent's would want you to waste time fighting for something that doesn't exist."

"I know," Tony said dejectedly. "I just wish they could have seen this; that they hadn't _died _fighting for something that doesn't exist."

"Then make sure you make the most of this," Gibbs said firmly. "You've got a fresh start here, in this world. If you can't enjoy it for yourself, then enjoy it for them."

Tony nodded. "I will," he said quietly. "I've just gotta get used to everything before I can focus on that."

Gibbs removed his hand, and Tony was irritated that he missed its presence. He had definitely been starved of touch for too long. "That's understandable," Gibbs said moving to one of the cupboards. "Now what do you want for dinner?"

Tony frowned. "Don't you get sick of cooking for me?" he asked. "You don't get to enjoy it."

"I'm a dom, Tony," Gibbs said evenly. "I like to take care of my sub."

Tony didn't particularly like being referred to as a sub, but he couldn't deny that he liked being taken care of. That being said, he still felt bad that Gibbs had been cooking for him all the time. There was a difference between taking care of someone and that someone being a lazy slob. And from what Tony had heard, the sub was supposed to do stuff for the dom. He hadn't heard of the dom waiting on the sub hand and foot.

"I want to learn to cook," Tony said stubbornly. "You're not supposed to be doing so much for me."

"What?" Gibbs asked surprised. "Why not?"

"'Cause the subs supposed to serve the dom, aren't they?" Tony hedged. "I'm supposed to be doing stuff for you. Most things you want I can't do yet," Tony added nervously, just in case Gibbs got the wrong idea. "But I should at least be cooking my own meals."

Now it was Gibbs' turn to frown. "I think you've got the wrong end of the stick when it comes to these types of relationships," he said slowly. "You're not gonna be my slave. I'm not gonna make you clean the whole house and do the washing and all that crap. We're equals."

"How the hell are we equals?" Tony demanded. "You hold all the cards."

"No, I don't," Gibbs argued. "You hold just as much, it's just different cards."

"I don't understand," Tony said in frustration. "The dom gives orders, dishes out punishments while the sub just takes it."

"That's how it looks to someone on the outside," Gibbs pointed out, "It's definitely not like that on the inside. Have you ever wanted to just stop thinking? To just let go and have someone else take care of you for once?"

Tony clenched his jaw and looked away. He hated to admit it, but he did want that. Hell, sometimes he wanted it so badly it hurt. But wanting to be looked after, wanting to _belong_ didn't mean that he wanted to be tied up and whipped. He'd had enough physical pain in his life to want any more.

"What about the orders?" Tony asked ignoring Gibbs' questions.

"Same thing. If you have strict boundaries you don't have to think," Gibbs answered slowly. "It means you can just be you; no worrying about anything else."

"And the punishments?" Tony asked skeptically. "I don't think the sub gets to punish the dom, ever."

"Depends," Gibbs said simply. "If I fucked up badly I wouldn't expect to be let off because I'm a dom. I doubt the punishment would be the same, but it would be punishment nonetheless."

Tony wasn't entirely sure that was the norm, he had a sneaking suspicion that that mentality might be unique to Gibbs, but he sure as hell wasn't going to question it. It was reassuring to know that Gibbs wouldn't expect Tony to sit back and ignore it if he did something to hurt him.

"But you do like whips and handcuffs and all those kind of things?" Tony asked hesitantly.

Gibbs nodded. "I do, but," he added quickly, "I wouldn't use them if you actually hated it. Have you ever seriously sat down and thought about it?" he asked.

"Thought about what?"

"About what it would be like to use them? To be unable to move, and to be completely at someone else's mercy; to let them take care of you in every way possible. To trust someone enough to let them do that and know that they won't hurt you." Gibbs' eyes darkened as he spoke and Tony couldn't help but shiver.

"No," he forced out, "I haven't thought about it."

"Maybe you should," Gibbs said turning back to the cupboard and rummaging around. "Remember the council picks people who are compatible; chances are if I like it, you'll like it as well."

"But if I hate it you won't do any of it?" Tony asked quietly. "No matter how much you like it?"

Gibbs looked over his shoulder, and Tony had a funny feeling that he was looking terrified. "I would never do something to you that you didn't want, Tony," Gibbs said softly. "Got it?"

"It's gonna take a while to get that," Tony answered staring at Gibbs. "This isn't how I thought this was gonna work."

"You thought I would have had you the moment you walked through the door," Gibbs stated simply. "You didn't think you'd have any choice."

Tony nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty much it." He paused, there was another question that had been eating away at him, but he was too nervous to voice it.

"What?" Gibbs asked, filling a pot with water and placing it on the stove.

Tony watched as Gibbs added some pasta and heated some sauce up in the microwave. "Does being mated mean you're exclusive?" he asked nervously.

Gibbs paused, and Tony thought he looked a little angry, but the vampire did a pretty good job of hiding it. "Not necessarily," Gibbs said his voice tight. "Some dominant vampires like watching their mates with other people, and some don't care who their mate sleeps with as long as they come home to their bed."

"I wasn't meaning me," Tony interjected quickly. "I didn't think I'd be allowed to be with anyone else. I was asking about you."

Gibbs looked surprised and then slightly amused. "I'm exclusive," he said simply. "No point fucking around when you've got a mate. Some dominants are different, but their mates usually aren't big on monogamy either."

"But you are?" Tony asked.

Gibbs nodded. "I am. I wouldn't deal well with you sleeping around."

"So you wouldn't give me to someone else to use? Like a friend or someone with a high ranking?" Tony asked quickly before he lost his nerve. "It'll always just be you?"

Gibbs' eyes narrowed slightly and he frowned. "Yes; it sure as hell will always be me. What gave you the idea that I'd pass you around like a piece of meat?" he demanded.

"Nothing you said or did," Tony reassured him quickly. "It's just something I heard a long time ago. I still don't know exactly what goes around behind closed doors here," he added.

Gibbs still looked pissed. "Where did you hear it?" he asked.

Tony sighed; Gibbs didn't look like he would let this go. It would probably be easier just to answer him and get it over with, no matter how unpleasant the memory. "You know I've had more than one run in with people like Jake?" Tony asked. Gibbs nodded, and Tony continued. "Well, when I was about seventeen the group I was with ran into some vampires like him and they were telling us all the stuff that was going to happen to us once we were sold off."

"Like?" Gibbs asked dangerously.

"Like having our master pass us around at parties for guests to use for pleasure," Tony muttered. "He said that was a common practice, and that they liked hearing kids like me scream."

Gibbs clenched his jaw. "That's not common practice," he said shortly. "Some submissives are into that kind of thing, and get off on it, while their master likes to watch it, but it's not common. And I sure as hell don't like it."

"Guess I got lucky then," Tony said softly. "Don't know if I could have survived being with a dominant like that."

"They wouldn't have paired you with someone who was into that," Gibbs said turning back to pasta which was now simmering gently. Tony could still see that Gibbs was incredibly tense.

"Sorry," he couldn't help but say.

"For what?" Gibbs asked incredulously.

"Bringing it up," Tony shrugged helplessly. "I know you don't like hearing about that kind of shit."

"I don't," Gibbs agreed, "But I like it even less that you've kept that all bottled up for so long. I'm glad you feel like you can talk about it."

Tony settled with folding a bit of scrap paper into a ball and tossing it into the air instead of saying any more. He didn't want to have to go over every altercation he ever had vampires; he'd much rather forget. Thankfully, Gibbs accepted the silence and continued stirring the pasta slowly until it was done.

Gibbs dished it out and handed the plate to Tony. "Try and eat it all," he said sternly. "You didn't eat much for lunch."

"I still want to learn to cook," Tony stated as he began to eat.

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Alright, but not yet."

Gibbs cleaned up the kitchen as Tony ate, and by the time Tony had finished the kitchen was spotless. Wordlessly, Tony got up and washed his plate before drying it and putting it away.

"Don't like feeling like a freeloader," he muttered to Gibbs.

"Fair enough." Gibbs shrugged. "There are plenty of things for you to do if you feel the need to help."

"Like what?" Tony asked.

"Cleaning, helping with reports, that sort of thing," Gibbs said, "And a hand with the boat is always nice."

"Boat?" Tony repeated dumbly. "What boat?"

"The one I'm building," Gibbs answered succinctly.

Tony didn't remember seeing a boat anywhere. "Where?"

"In my basement," Gibbs stated. "Been building her for around a year now."

"You're building a boat in your basement?" Tony asked incredulously.

Gibbs nodded. "Yup."

"Can I see?" Tony asked before pausing. "You do know that's a really weird thing to do."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "So I've been told. Do you want to see it or not?"

Tony nodded quickly. "I am not missing this!" he exclaimed. "I knew vampires were weird, but this is taking it to a whole new level."

Gibbs snorted and pushed Tony gently towards the direction of the basement. "I don't think this hobby is a common one amongst vampires. Or humans."

"That's because hobbies are supposed to be fun, relaxing and easy," Tony said. "They're not supposed to be impossible feats of construction."

"I like a challenge," Gibbs stated, and Tony didn't think that Gibbs was just talking about the boat.

"Down here?" he asked pointing at the door.

Gibbs nodded. "Yep. Light switch is to your left."

Tony opened the door and flicked on the switch, flooding the stairs and the basement with light. He almost ran down the stairs, but restrained himself slightly; he didn't think Gibbs would be terribly impressed if he broke his leg 'cause he was careless.

"Wow," he said when he reached the bottom. "Wow. It's big."

"I said _boat_, DiNozzo," Gibbs said in amusement. "I hope you weren't imagining a dinghy."

"No," Tony answered, "But I wasn't thinking it would be a fucking sailboat. How the hell are you gonna get it out?"

Gibbs laughed and shook his head, grinning wryly. "You have no idea how many times I've been asked that."

"Are you gonna answer it?" Tony demanded.

"Nope. You'll find out when it's finished," Gibbs said.

"Are you sure it's gonna ever be finished?" Tony asked skeptically.

"Yeah, she'll get finished," Gibbs said softly. "Might actually take this one out on the water."

"You've made others?" Tony asked. "You have _a lot_ of spare time."

"Yeah. Burned them though," Gibbs added.

"You burned them," Tony repeated dumbly. "You spent all that time on them, and then you destroy them? Why in the hell would you do that?"

"Didn't like what they represented," Gibbs said simply.

Fair enough, Tony thought. He understood well enough how destroying something could be cathartic. When he had run from his parent's hotel room, he'd taken the car and drove as far away as he could and then proceeded to trash the car. It had been a stupid idea in the long run, because a car would have been a useful thing to have, but it had made him feel better at the time.

"But you like this one?" Tony hedged.

Gibbs nodded. "I do. Besides, I doubt you'd appreciate it if I made you help and then burned the finished project."

Tony grinned. "No, can't say I'd like that."

He moved closer and glanced at Gibbs for approval before running his hand down one of the ribs of the boat. "You're not using power tools?" Tony asked.

"Nope," Gibbs answered, his eyes following Tony's hands. "Wanted to do it properly."

"That's kind of weird," Tony stated, "But cool."

"Glad you approve, DiNozzo," Gibbs said wryly.

Tony explored the boat, running his hands down each rib before turning his attention to the bench which housed the tools Gibbs used. He picked each of them up, examining them and trying to figure out how they were used on the boat. Tony brushed past an old saw, not noticing it until he felt the jagged edge cut into the side of his arm.

"Ow," he muttered pressing tentatively at the wound, wincing when he felt it was wet.

"What did you do?" Gibbs asked from behind him. Tony spun around, his heart beating in his chest. He hoped Gibbs was as strong willed as ever when it came to being faced with fresh blood; especially blood that was coming from his mate.

"I walked into your saw," Tony answered sheepishly.

Gibbs grabbed his arm and rolled up the sleeve of his shirt, exposing the cut. "It's not too deep," he murmured. "Not gonna need stitches."

He let go of Tony's arm and grabbed a first aid kit which was hiding on the top shelf. Gibbs cleaned the wound, rubbed antiseptic cream into it and then bandaged it quickly and efficiently, and all while seeming completely unaffected by Tony's blood on his hands.

"Why do you have a first aid kit down here?" Tony asked trying to distract himself from the situation he was in.

"In case unobservant humans walk into saws and cut themselves," Gibbs said with a straight face.

"Ha ha," Tony muttered. "Not my fault the thing's camouflaged. You're not gonna lick your hand are you?" he asked quickly. "'Cause if you are I might have to leave."

"I'm not some new vampire who gets a hard on at the sight of blood," Gibbs said rolling his eyes.

"Too much information," Tony said weakly, not really wanting to associate Gibbs with a hard on and blood.

"Sorry," Gibbs said unperturbed.

"No you're not," Tony argued taking his arm back and examining it. "What would have happened if I'd cut it deeply?"

"I'd have taken you to the hospital," Gibbs answered simply. "I'm a dom, Tony; I have _a lot_ of self control. Blood is not gonna phase me; even yours."

Tony sighed. "That's good to know. This is all so new," he said by way of an apology. "Whenever I've seen vampires around blood, they've been crazy."

Gibbs released Tony's arm and moved the saw before speaking. "Some vampires are greedy," he said slowly, "But it's mostly new vampires that go into a bloodlust. That's why making them is so hard. It's not like it used to be; it's a huge process to make a new vampire nowadays."

Tony wasn't surprised; he had known that. It would be inordinately stupid if new vampires could be created at whim. "How do they decide?" Tony asked.

Gibbs looked uncomfortable. "I'm not sure you're gonna want to hear that right now."

Tony might not have had an education, but he wasn't stupid. "Human mates are involved, aren't they?"

Gibbs looked worried, which Tony had to admit was a weird look on the vampire. "Yeah they are."

Tony sighed. "I'm not stupid, Gibbs," he said eventually. "You're immortal, I'm not. I knew that if this did work, me being turned would become a very real possibility. That being said," Tony added, "There is no way in hell I can think about that right now. So for the time being I'm going to pretend like it's never going to happen."

"Good idea," Gibbs said relieved. It was obvious the vampire thought he was going to protest the idea vehemently or have some kind of breakdown.

Tony knew that was easier said than done. The idea of being turned into a vampire scared him more than he could possibly want to admit. He had seen vampires today; vampires who acted just as human as he did. Vampires who could control their urges and respected humans. However, Tony had also seen vampires who would not or could not control their bloodlust, vampires who _enjoyed_ violence and pain so much that it consumed them. Tony didn't want to risk becoming like that; he didn't know that he could risk becoming like that. The very _idea _of having to drink someone's blood to stay alive sickened him. He just didn't know that he could _voluntarily _do that to himself.

His thoughts must have shown on his face because Gibbs rested him hand on his shoulder. "Remember what I said earlier?" Gibbs asked softly. "I am _never_ going to force you into anything, this included."

"Even if you somehow fell head over heels in love with me?" Tony asked skeptically. "Could you watch me grow old and die? Or let me live knowing something as meaningless as a rouge bullet could kill me?"

Gibbs nodded. "I'd rather that than turn you against your will and live an eternity with you hating what you were. And for the record," Gibbs added, "I doubt it is gonna be that hard to fall in love with you. You're not as difficult as you think you are."

That was too much to comprehend right now, so Tony chose to ignore it.

"I think I'm gonna head to bed now," he said hesitantly. "Kind of tired."

Gibbs allowed the deliberate change of subject. "I don't blame you," Gibbs said. "Can sleep in tomorrow as well."

"Don't you have work?" Tony asked as they walked up the stairs.

Gibbs shook his head. "Got a week off. Maybe more if I think you need it."

"That's not fair," Tony protested. "You need to work."

Gibbs snorted. "Tony, I haven't taken time of work in almost ten years. I think they're _ecstatic_ that I'm not gonna be there."

"I bet Burley isn't," Tony muttered.

"No, I don't think he will be either," Gibbs said wryly. "But I don't give a shit. He needs to move on. You being here should help that."

"Kind of feel sorry for the guy," Tony said softly. "Must be hard on him. He would have still had hope that something would happen; now I've ruined that."

"You haven't ruined anything," Gibbs chided. "He needs to know it would never have worked. He was never this hostile towards any of my other mates because he could tell that they weren't going to work. Hell, I'm pretty sure everyone knew they weren't going to work. He knows you're different."

"Why did the council mate you with humans who were so obviously unsuited to you then?" Tony asked with a frown.

"Because they were trying to reward me. Trying to get me to be happy and move on from Shannon by mating me with people who looked like her. Problem was they were so easy. They were nothing like her at all. They wouldn't work for it; eventually they just gave up," Gibbs answered.

"And Burley would be like them?" Tony guessed.

Gibbs nodded. "Definitely not what I need or want."

"You want me," Tony stated.

Gibbs nodded. "Yup. I already know you're different from the others, and different from Shannon. I never wanted to replace her; just fit someone in with her. Took a long time for me to want that, but I do."

"You're still taking a risk with me though," Tony commented. "I don't know that I can be who you want me to be."

"I just want you to be you," Gibbs said with a shrug. "We just need to work out if you can accept me being me."

"I'm trying," Tony said. "I respect you, possibly even like you. You've done a hell of a lot for me these last weeks, but it's not like we've spent a lot of time hanging out or anything."

"Hence the week off," Gibbs said with a grin. "We can _hang out_."

Tony snorted. "Since you're building a boat in your basement, and have built several other boats in your basement, I'm guessing hanging out is a novel concept."

"Maybe," Gibbs shrugged. "We'll have to wait and see how I do."

Tony laughed softly. He couldn't deny that Gibbs amused him. "See you in the morning. Or afternoon," Tony added with a grin before turning into his room.

"Night," Gibbs said from behind him.

Tony closed the door before stripping down and sliding in between the sheets. It became apparent to him pretty quickly that sleep was going to be a hard time coming, regardless of how tired he was. The nightmare from the morning flashed before his eyes, and his mind seemed determined to not have to visit it again even though he was exhausted.

Tony rolled onto his stomach and tried to force himself to go to sleep, but had to keep turning to check the room. He felt like a stupid kid who thought there were monsters under the bed, but he couldn't keep his heart from racing. Eventually, after lying there in the dark for what felt like hours, he gave up and turned the light on.

As he had known, there was nothing. But Tony couldn't bring himself to turn the light off. At least when there was light he _knew_ there was nothing there. When the light was off his imagination ran wild. It pissed him off that this was happening _now _when he had been sleeping safely in the room for three _weeks. _Logically, Tony knew that because he had physically started to heal, he now had the energy to think and analyze everything that had happened, hence the nightmare. That didn't mean he had to like it, and sure as hell didn't mean he didn't feel like a kid.

Reluctantly Tony flicked the switch on the wall and the light left the room. Tony lay on his back, his eyes wide open and his body still. He doubted he was going to get any sleep at this rate.

Tony didn't know how long it took him to get to sleep, he refused to look at the clock, he hated the visual reminder of how slow time was passing, but eventually sleep claimed him. However, not for long. His body refused to go into a deep sleep, and he found himself waking at the slightest noise.

_Finally _light slowly began to enter his room and Tony managed to grab a more than half an hours sleep. When Tony woke again it was almost two in the afternoon.

"Don't know if this was what Gibbs meant by sleeping in," Tony muttered to himself as he rolled out of bed and got dressed.

He walked down to the hall, took care of business before heading downstairs into the kitchen where Gibbs was sitting, reading the newspaper.

Gibbs glanced up and put the paper down. "Did you get any sleep last night?" he demanded. "You look like shit."

"Way to woo me," Tony said sulkily sitting up on the bench. "And yes I did. This morning," he added.

"That why you just coming down now?" Gibbs asked frowning.

Tony nodded and rubbed his hand over his face. He still felt like he'd had no sleep.

"Why couldn't you sleep?" Gibbs asked. "You seemed tired enough last night."

Tony shrugged, embarrassed. He sure as hell didn't want to tell Gibbs that he could barely sleep with the light off because he was scared shitless from a stupid nightmare. Only apparently Gibbs could tell.

"Damn nightmare, wasn't it?" Gibbs guessed before continuing. "Why the hell didn't you get me? Or Ducky?"

Tony started; he kept forgetting that Ducky lived here. "How come I never see him in the evening?" Tony asked.

"Don't change the subject," Gibbs said angrily before answering, "And Ducky likes to be alone in the evenings. He spends all day in autopsy with dead bodies. He likes to unwind by himself."

"Fair enough," Tony stated looking away.

"Tony," Gibbs said lowly. "Why didn't you get someone?"

"Because it was stupid!" Tony exclaimed angrily. "I'm not some kid, Gibbs, I shouldn't have to sleep with the light on, and I shouldn't be scared shitless because of some stupid dream. Besides, there was nothing you could have done."

"It wasn't a stupid dream and you know it," Gibbs chided gently. "I could have sat with you, or got Ducky to if you weren't comfortable with me being there while you slept."

"I would have been fine with you there," Tony interjected. "I know you're not going to drink my blood or rape me in my sleep. But I shouldn't _need _someone to sit in the room with me just so I can sleep."

"It's understandable," Gibbs argued. "You can't protect yourself when you're asleep. And when you're asleep, you're attacked by your own mind. I'd want that if I had nightmares."

"Well, you don't sleep, so you're not likely to suffer from them now are you," Tony snapped.

"No," Gibbs agreed easily. "But I was wounded in battle right after hearing about Shannon and Kelly. I suffered from flashbacks for months, even though physically I healed quickly. Ducky took two months off work to stay with me; barely left my side."

"It's different," Tony argued weakly.

"Hardly," Gibbs argued back. "Besides, if you fall asleep quickly you wouldn't even notice anyone was there. Hell, you can get Abby to stay with you. But you'd have to put another bed in there," Gibbs added.

"Sharing beds would bother you?" Tony asked surprised. "I wouldn't have sex with her."

"It's not about sex," Gibbs said slowly. "It's complicated. I see you as mine; letting you share beds with someone would be like sharing you. I'd hate it."

Tony wasn't particularly fond of being referred to as Gibbs' at the moment. Sometimes he still felt like a piece of meat, and he hated that.

"I know you don't like that you're stuck with me for the rest of your life," Gibbs said softly. "And I know it seems unfair that you can't be with other people, but it's just how it is here. If I could let you go out and experiment I would, but I just couldn't do that. Hell, even thinking about letting you be with someone else makes me want to kill them, even though they don't exist."

Tony laughed weakly at that. "Look, Gibbs," he said finally. "I'm not happy about the fact that I've been paired to you without any say in the matter, and because of that I can't go out and date and experiment. But," Tony added before Gibbs could interrupt, "I did say to myself that I'd give this a chance. You haven't been wrong so far. And anyway, I wouldn't want to go out clubbing for a long time, so even if you had let me go and experiment I still would have spent a lot of time with you before. Chances are I wouldn't have wanted to try anything anyway."

Tony didn't know why the hell he was trying to reassure Gibbs, but he was glad when the vampire relaxed slightly.

"There's no point in me mopping around wondering what could have been," Tony said firmly, talking to himself as much as he was to Gibbs. "I'm your mate, and that's that. I have to make the most of my situation."

Gibbs scowled. "I want you to be happy," he said finally. "Really happy. I don't want you to be constantly wondering if things would have been different if you'd had a choice."

"Gibbs," Tony said gently. "We both know that things definitely would have been different if I'd had a choice. I would have walked out that door the first night and never looked back. I wouldn't have given this world, you or anything a chance. I would have ended up dead, sooner or later. As much as I hate to say it, me not having a choice was probably a good thing."

Gibbs didn't look convinced. "I don't want you to be wondering if things would be better with someone else ten years down the track."

Tony sighed. "Gibbs, if you told me right now that I could walk out that door and leave with no repercussions; that you wouldn't try and find me, I still wouldn't leave. Not now, not knowing what I know. Not knowing you."

Gibbs paused. "Alright," he said finally. "You can leave."

"What?" Tony asked his stomach dropping. "You're kicking me out?"

"No," Gibbs said evenly. "I'm giving you a choice. If you want you can leave. No repercussions, I won't follow. I'll get the council to set you up with your own house, your own job. You can live your life the way you want to."

The thought of even trying to live in this new world without Gibbs scared the shit out of him. But he did let himself think about it; he could date, try and find someone _himself. _But something kept popping up in his mind; what if Gibbs was the one? Damien and his wife had been together for ages, and even in his weakened state, he had seen how much he loved her. Tony wasn't sure he could do this without Gibbs, wasn't sure he wanted to.

"No," Tony said finally. "I don't want to leave. And I do believe you're being honest here," Tony added. "I believe if I had said yes and walked that you would have stuck to your word. But I'm saying no. I _want _to stay. I'm not saying that I believe you're the one for me or that this is gonna work, I'm saying that I'm not one hundred percent sure it won't work. I'm not ready to give up before I've even tried."

Gibbs actually looked speechless. "That wasn't what I expected you to say," he said finally.

"You thought I'd leave," Tony stated.

"Regretted offering you the choice the moment it left my mouth," Gibbs admitted. "Thought I'd lost you before I'd even had you."

"Well you haven't," Tony said feeling a little lightheaded from the intensity of the moment. "But just so you know, this doesn't mean we're going to be getting it on anytime soon. I want to be your friend first before I decide if there's anything worth pursuing."

Gibbs laughed. "You do know I'm supposed to be the dom, right?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah, and a good one," he said softly. "It takes a hell of a person to do what you just did. Makes me feel a hell of a lot better. Of course, the kinky stuff is going to have to wait _a long_ time," Tony added. "I haven't even had sex yet, let alone used handcuffs and whips."

"Don't worry," Gibbs said his eyes fixed on Tony's. "I've got all the time in the world."

And he did, Tony thought. There was no rush now. He'd made his own choice to stay; for now this was going to be on his terms. Of course, he wasn't stupid enough to think that Gibbs was relinquishing control. He was just stepping aside and letting Tony find his own way for now. Tony knew Gibbs would step back the moment he knew Tony was ready. But for now, Tony was just going to get a feel for his new life. And maybe get some proper sleep as well.

* * *

I am so sorry for the long delay! I had major writers block for two weeks, and then this all came tumbling out in two days. At least it's a super long chapter :] Thanks heaps to finlaure for the super speedy beta! I'm 2000 words into the next chapter, so hopefully the wait won't be as long! Thanks to everyone who's sticking with this; hope you enjoy, Tony's finally coming around, slowly but surely.

Let me know what you think :]


	7. Chapter 7

Tony didn't have to worry about making Gibbs sit up with him because he fell asleep in front of the television and apparently Gibbs didn't have the heart to wake him. In fact, Tony had actually slept through the whole night and didn't wake until morning. He didn't think he'd ever slept that long in his life.

"Morning," he said roughly as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

"Morning," Gibbs acknowledged. "Sleep alright?"

"You already know I did," Tony said rolling his eyes. "I know you didn't move."

"How?" Gibbs asked curiously.

"I would have woken up," Tony said embarrassed. "There's no way in hell I would have stayed asleep that long if I'd been alone."

"Well then I guess you won't be sleeping alone then," Gibbs stated.

Tony sighed. "You shouldn't have to sit up with me all night," he argued.

"I will if it means you'll sleep," Gibbs said, and apparently that was the end of the argument. "Do you want breakfast?"

Tony's stomach growled at the thought of food, and considering he had fallen asleep before dinner it wasn't surprising. "I might shower first," he said standing. "I'll get something afterwards."

Gibbs probably hadn't missed the way Tony had said _he'd_ get something, but Tony didn't care. He didn't like feeling like he was doing 'nothing' , and to be perfectly honest, it was unnerving him. He didn't understand the mechanics of these kinds of relationships, but he was positive that he was meant to be doing _something_.

"Alright," Gibbs said and stood as well. "I'm gonna go work on the boat."

Tony nodded and headed upstairs to the shower. He stripped off his clothes and tossed them haphazardly on the floor, not caring where they fell. He turned the shower on as hot as it could go before stepping under the spray. Having daily showers still wasn't a luxury that Tony had gotten used to yet. He still took a moment every day to enjoy the feeling of hot _clean _water sliding over his skin.

Tony felt a lot better after showering and eating. It was nice not to have to do anything or be anywhere. It helped that he wasn't stressing as well. Gibbs had given him full reign over the speed at which things were going to happen, and that made him a hell of a lot more relaxed than anything else. Gibbs hadn't specifically _said _that Tony had control but they both knew he did. Tony knew it was a big deal that Gibbs had given him this; he doubted many other doms would even consider it.

He knew for a fact that _no _other doms would offer him what Gibbs had yesterday. He _knew _Gibbs had meant what he said. If Tony had chosen to walk, Gibbs wouldn't have followed. Tony still wasn't entirely sure that he had made the right choice, but he was certain that if he chose to leave in the future, Gibbs would let him go. Tony couldn't deny he had been tempted when Gibbs had said he could go; hell he had been more than tempted. He had almost been desperate. But as much as he hated to admit it, he _needed _Gibbs now. There was no way he could go out without him; seeing everything hadn't changed his instincts, and his instincts still told him to run. It bothered him that he couldn't tell who was a vampire, and without Gibbs around he would never be able to relax. He knew Gibbs would protect him, but he still didn't completely believe that he wouldn't be attacked; hence he needed Gibbs.

Tony was still worried about how at ease he felt around the vampire, and at how easy it was gonna be to trust him completely. Hell, he had already _chosen _to stay. If someone had told him two weeks ago that he would voluntarily choose to stay, he would have thought they were insane. Deep down, however, Tony didn't think Gibbs would do anything that would make him want to leave. What Tony needed to find out was whether or not he could live with Gibbs as a _partner, _as a _mate_. As a dominant. Tony still refused to give too much thought to that aspect of vampire relationships. Right now, he couldn't comprehend it, and he didn't see any point in trying until he was more comfortable with Gibbs, and was considering _more_.

Tony was immensely grateful that Gibbs had gotten them a week off. Tony didn't want to be thrown into the mechanics of being an agent, especially if Gibbs couldn't be there, and Tony wasn't sure that Gibbs _could _be there all the time. At some stage he was going to have to interact with vampires without Gibbs. He was just hoping it would be like it was with the sales assistant; with him completely unaware that the person he was talking to was a vampire.

It was also good that he was going to get to spend some time with Gibbs. They still didn't really know a lot about each other; though, Tony didn't really know a lot about himself. He had never really had a chance to do anything other than run.

"Anthony," Ducky said from behind him causing Tony to jump in fright. "Sorry, my boy," Ducky said apologetically, "I didn't mean to startle you. You seemed a bit dazed."

"I was thinking," Tony said sheepishly. "Lost myself for a bit there."

"Happens to us all," Ducky said simply. "I take it you were thinking about yesterday."

Tony nodded. "It was different seeing it in person," he murmured. "Couldn't let myself believe it until I had seen it."

"I have no doubt," Ducky said sympathetically. "I think you've done admirably. Not many people could do what you're doing."

"I guess that's why I'm suited to this," Tony said quietly. "It still feels wrong sometimes," he added softly. "Like I'm going against everything, even though I _know _I'm not. I know my parents would want me to be happy, and this might actually make me happy."

Ducky looked relieved and sad at the same time. "I know it seems like you have no choice," he said gently, "But I genuinely think Gibbs is good for you; that _this _is good for you."

Tony smiled at that. "I did have a choice, Ducky," he stated. "Gibbs said I could leave. Said he wouldn't follow and that they'd set me up with a job and a new life. I chose to stay."

Ducky looked shocked. "And you believed his offer?"

Tony nodded. "Without a doubt."

Ducky chuckled. "You two might just be better suited to each other than anyone thought."

"Maybe," Tony said contemplatively. "I still can't picture myself in an actual _relationship _with Gibbs."

Tony was starting to suspect that that may be because he hadn't been in an actual relationship with _anyone_. Though, according to Gibbs that was a good thing. At the moment it didn't feel like a good thing. He had no idea what was expected of him in a normal relationship, let alone what was entitled of him in a relationship with Gibbs.

"I doubt many people could, Anthony," Ducky said soothingly. "Just get to know him. He's not a gruff as he appears."

"I know," Tony said softly. "When I first saw him, all I could think of was how I was going to spend the rest of my life being raped by him. Being raped by his friends. He told me that was never going to happen, that he would never hurt me." Tony paused. "He has the power to make me do whatever he wants, but I don't think he'd ever use it. Not in a way that would hurt me, anyway."

"Jethro may be many things," Ducky said knowingly, "But cruel has never been one of them. He never approved of the council, or of the way vampires revealed themselves. In fact, he was against vampires revealing themselves altogether."

"Really?" Tony asked surprised. He hadn't known that; from the way Gibbs talked about the council, it sounded like he didn't have anything against them. As for vampires revealing themselves, it was obvious to Tony that Gibbs wished it had been done differently, but he had no idea why Gibbs had wanted to keep vampires a secret.

Ducky nodded. "Jethro believes in freedom of choice, and although the council is rarely wrong in pairing vampires with their mates, Jethro isn't entirely sure that it shouldn't be up to the individual to find that person."

"Not entirely sure I can disagree with him on that, Ducky," Tony said with a weak smile. "But hopefully they're right with me."

"I believe they are," Ducky said firmly. "They took a risk with you; I doubt they would have done it unless there was some substantial evidence that it would work."

Tony sighed. "I know, Ducky. The whole thing's just a weird concept to me right now, but I'm getting there."

"Yes you are, and don't you forget that," Ducky said sternly. "All of us are surprised at how fast you've adjusted. Don't even think about feeling bad if you feel you need to slow things down a little. Jethro would take a hell of a lot more than a week off if you wanted it. Now," Ducky added, "I must be off, I'll see you this evening."

"Bye," Tony said quietly, thinking over what Ducky had said. No one would think any less of him if he wanted more time off, but Tony knew he didn't want to sit around doing nothing. He needed to keep himself busy and get used to everything. He hated feeling like he was floundering around; never knowing what way was up. Tony wanted _this _to be his normal.

Tony walked down into the basement and sat on the bottom step. Gibbs was sanding one of the ribs of the boat, moving the sand paper slowly and methodically over the wood. It was somewhat calming to see Gibbs like this; calm and peaceful. It was always reassuring to see Gibbs acting human; just enjoying himself like anyone else. Tony was sure that Burley would kill to see what he was seeing now. He found himself hoping that Burley would find someone, and wouldn't be pining over Gibbs for eternity. He doubted that would happen, but he wanted Burley to find someone sooner rather than later for both of their sakes. Tony wasn't exactly looking forward to working with a submissive vampire who was in love with his mate. Thankfully, he would be partnered with Gibbs so Burley couldn't try anything stupid.

"You're looking deep in thought," Gibbs commented. That was another thing Tony was starting to appreciate about Gibbs. He never pushed Tony to talk, and often would just leave openings such as this one; inviting Tony to talk if he wanted. Tony was finding himself using the openings more and more.

"Burley," Tony admitted, "And you."

Gibbs didn't look surprised; he just continued working on his boat and waited for Tony to continue.

"Do you let anyone else come down here?" Tony asked. "Other than Ducky and Abby?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Nope. Don't let many people into my house, let alone my basement."

Somehow Tony wasn't surprised. Gibbs was obviously a private person; Tony had a feeling he had gotten the easy way in. It seemed like most people would have to work their asses of to get close to Gibbs.

"People could just walk in, you realize?" Tony pointed out. "People could have been down here and you wouldn't even know."

Gibbs snorted. "I'd know," he said. "Heightened smell, remember?"

"People's smell can't linger that long," Tony protested. "What if they came in the morning and you weren't home until late?"

"I'd still know," Gibbs said simply. "Smell lingers a lot longer than you'd think."

Tony groaned. "Am I going to be able to get away with anything?" he asked incredulously. "Or am I just going to get caught out every time?"

Gibbs shrugged. "Depends on what you're trying to get away with," he said. "Sometimes I might let you _think_ you're getting away with something."

"Thanks so much," Tony said sarcastically. "What kind of stuff are you going to pretend to let me get away with?"

The corner of Gibbs' mouth quirked as he thought over Tony's question. "I don't know," he answered finally. "I know what I won't let you get away with," he added.

"Like what?" Tony asked. He had to admit he was a little worried about what Gibbs would expect as time went on. He didn't do well with rules; he never had, and he didn't want to live his life according to someone else's.

"Like pretending you're okay when you're not," Gibbs said sternly. "Especially when you're hurt."

Tony wasn't really surprised that that was something Gibbs wouldn't allow. Gibbs had been adamant that Tony take care of himself, be it eating or sleeping. Tony couldn't see Gibbs letting him walk around acting like he was fine when he was hurt. Of course, Tony couldn't see himself outright admitting that he was hurt to Gibbs, especially when it was something that he considered minor. Tony had a feeling that he and Gibbs would be butting heads over what was considered '_okay_.'

"Anything else?" Tony asked deciding to ignore Gibbs' earlier statement for now.

"Anything else you can find out when you need to," Gibbs answered cryptically. "That's the one you need to focus on now."

"What happens if I think I'm okay, but you don't?" Tony asked.

"Tony, you've been saying you're okay for the past three weeks," Gibbs said incredulously. "I don't know that I'm gonna be taking your word on that topic."

"But I have felt fine," Tony protested.

"There's no way you've felt fine," Gibbs argued. "Your whole life's changed in less than a month. You starved yourself for a week. There is no way in hell that you can be _fine_."

"Then I guess I haven't felt fine before," Tony muttered bitterly. He hated that he sounded melodramatic, but it was true. He'd always been tired and hungry; he'd never had a home or real friends. Everything had always been about survival; fine had never been part of the equation.

Gibbs sighed. "Well you're about to learn," he said succinctly, and somehow that one sentence made Tony feel a lot better than any meaningless placations ever could.

"Why didn't you want vampires to reveal themselves?" Tony asked deciding now was the perfect time for a subject change.

Gibbs took longer than normal to answer. "I didn't think mixing humans and vampires would be a good idea," Gibbs said finally. "I knew humans wouldn't take too well to it at first; it was always going to cause panic. And I've worked in law enforcement for a long time; I knew there were a lot of vampires who wouldn't be able to control themselves without the laws of secrecy being in place."

"I take it before the council didn't want vampires to reveal themselves at all?" Tony hedged.

Gibbs nodded. "They had very strict rules about human-vampire interactions."

"Why'd they change their minds?" Tony asked curiously.

"I still don't know," Gibbs answered annoyed. "They have their reasons, but I don't have a clue."

Tony could tell this was a sore spot for Gibbs. "You got something good out of it though," he said softly. "You had got to meet Shannon, and have Kelly."

Gibbs smiled softly, and Tony almost felt like he was intruding when he saw the faraway look in Gibbs' eyes. "Met you as well," Gibbs added after a moment, "I've done pretty well out of it."

"Give it a few more years and maybe more humans will be getting more out of it as well," Tony said softly. "I don't like the idea of more kids growing up the way I did," he added. "But the council can fix that, and when that happens _maybe_ humans might be better off than we were to start with."

Gibbs stared. "I think I am going to have my job cut out for me, trying to understand you," Gibbs said finally.

Tony snorted and settled in to watch Gibbs work on the boat. There were small bouts of conversation, but for the most part, the morning was spent in silence.

The rest of the day passed slowly; Tony wasn't interested in doing anything, and neither apparently was Gibbs. Gibbs seemed content to spend the day working on his boat. Tony spent some time down there with him, but he got bored after a couple of hours so instead decided to watch some more movies.

He spent the rest of the day in front of the television despite Gibbs coming up briefly to tell him he should try and do something else. Tony just couldn't find the energy.

"You look like you've spent the day working," Gibbs commented.

Tony stifled a yawn. "I know," he muttered. "I'm always tired."

"It's a good thing we've got this week then," Gibbs said. "You need it."

Tony _definitely _needed this week. Just spending one day immersed in this society was exhausting; there was no way in hell Tony would have made it through a whole week.

"I know," he sighed. "But we're only taking a week, right?" Tony clarified. "I don't want to be away any longer."

"You'll take as long as you need," Gibbs said firmly. "There's no point in rushing anything."

"I'll get bored stiff if I'm in here for longer," Tony argued plaintively.

"I'm sure I can find something for you to do," Gibbs responded calmly.

Tony didn't want to know what kind of things Gibbs would come up with to keep him from being bored, so wisely kept his mouth shut. He wouldn't put it past the vampire to make him clean out the garage or the basement just to keep him occupied.

"I think I'll be fine with the television," Tony said meekly.

"You can't watch television for the whole week," Gibbs said sensibly.

Tony stretched out on the couch, and settled in more comfortably, ignoring Gibbs rolling his eyes. "I can try."

"Well you definitely cannot sleep on the couch for the rest of the week," Gibbs pointed out. "You'll kill your back."

Tony stiffened. "No it won't," he argued even though he knew it was a losing battle. "It's a big couch."

Gibbs sighed. "Tony," he tried again. "I don't care if it's me or Ducky who stays with you, but one of us is going to."

"It's not fair on either of you," Tony said. "Ducky needs sleep and you don't need any. _Neither _of you are staying," Tony finished adamantly, refusing to look at Gibbs, even when he heard the vampire get to his feet.

Tony was surprised when he heard the vampire leave the room, but relieved. He didn't want to get into an argument with the vampire. Even though Gibbs had temporarily relinquished control of the relationship Tony knew that he could just as easily take it back. He didn't want to be put in a position where Gibbs had to do so. Tony also knew if he kept arguing about this then Gibbs would _make _him have someone sit with him, even though Tony would hate it. Gibbs didn't seem to give a damn about what Tony wanted when it came to his health.

Tony was about to get up and go after Gibbs when he was bowled over by an exuberant Abby.

Thankful that he had landed on the couch, Tony pushed himself up and stared at Abby. "I thought you were at your place this week?"

"I was," Abby said excitedly, "But Gibbs said I can stay with you. He's moving my bed into your room right now."

Tony groaned. "I don't _need _someone in the same room as me to help me sleep," he said in frustration.

Abby lay down next to him on the couch. "Yes you do," she said softly. "And it's not doing anyone any good to keep denying it."

Tony flushed and tried to get off the couch, but he was pushed back down.

"She's right, Tony," Gibbs said quietly from above him. "Do you really want to spend another night alone?"

Tony looked up at Gibbs and shook his head. "No," he admitted quietly. "But I think I'd rather that than have to have sleepover like a six year old."

"No one's going to think any less of you," Abby said from beside him. "I know I'd want sleepovers all the time if I were you."

"I know you don't want help right now," Gibbs interjected before Tony could say anything. "I get it. But unless you accept it things aren't going to get any better."

Tony shook his head and tried to extract himself from the couch, but Abby held him down. Tony groaned and flopped back down. "I don't want to do this," he tried again.

He knew he was being petulant, but he just didn't think he could deal with having _sleepovers _with Abby because he got scared at night.

"Gibbs can stay," he said eventually. At least Gibbs really understood how he was feeling. If Abby were in his shoes she wouldn't have any trouble _asking_ for people to stay with her, let alone letting them actually stay. Gibbs knew how much he hated this. It seemed like such an obvious display of weakness. He knew no one saw it that way, but he did.

"Can we have a sleepover sometime?" Abby pleaded. "I can do your nails."

"What?" Tony exclaimed. "No one's doing my nails. Ever."

Abby pouted. "What about your hair?"

Tony was about to disagree but decided to placate Abby instead. "Alright. You can do my hair provided you never try and touch my nails. Deal?"

Abby shook his hand. "Deal," she said happily. "You didn't say anything about your makeup though," she added rolling off the couch.

Gibbs snorted. "Good luck," he said. "Come on, Tony."

Tony sighed and got up. "Do we really have too?" he implored one last time. Even though he was actually looking forward to getting a good night sleep in a bed, he still didn't want to give in this easily. He hated how fast everything was going, how it seemed like one minute vampires were his worst nightmare and now he was living with one, letting one sit by his bed so he could sleep. Realistically he knew that he was letting _Gibbs_ in, not all vampires, but it still felt like he was accepting more. Sometimes it was easier to just ignore everything else and focus on Gibbs.

"Where am I sleeping?" Abby asked.

"In your room," Gibbs answered simply, ignoring Tony's question.

Abby grinned, kissed both Tony and Gibbs on the cheek and bounced off. "Goodnight."

Tony groaned in realization. "You bastard," he said chuckling. "You never even moved her bed, did you?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Nope."

Tony sighed and followed Gibbs up to his room. "You really are a bastard you know that?"

"It's what the second 'B' is for," Gibbs said with a shrug. "Not denying it."

Tony felt incredibly awkward as he climbed into bed. It was a little unnerving to be lying there in bed with Gibbs sitting there on a chair.

"You're not gonna sit there and stare at me all night, are you?" Tony asked. He didn't think he pulled of the light tone he was going for, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

Gibbs shook his head. "I've got work," he answered motioning to the paperwork and case files that were already stacked up next to the chair.

"Of course you do," Tony muttered looking at the files. Gibbs really did have everything all planned out.

"Go to sleep," Gibbs ordered picking up a file and settling back on the chair.

Tony lay down and stared up at the ceiling, willing sleep to come. As exhausted as he was, it was still hard to drift off to sleep knowing Gibbs was sitting in the room. But it was definitely better than worrying about _who else_ might be in the room.

The sounds of Gibbs flicking through papers were surprisingly soothing, and Tony found himself slipping into sleep faster than he thought possible.

He was surprised to find himself being shaken awake by Gibbs in the early hours of the morning.

"What's going on?" he mumbled blearily before trying to roll over and go back to sleep.

"You were having a nightmare," Gibbs said softly.

Startled, Tony rolled over and stared at Gibbs. "I don't remember any nightmares," he said carefully. Normally after a nightmare he'd wake up with an aching throat from screaming and be drenched in sweat. "I don't feel like I had a nightmare either," he added. "Are you sure?"

Gibbs nodded. "You hadn't gotten into it yet," he said moving back to his chair. "You just started getting restless. Moaning as well."

Tony was inordinately grateful that Gibbs had woken him before the nightmare had taken hold. If that had happened then there would be no way that he would have gotten any more sleep. Hell, he doubted if he would have been able to sleep comfortably at all for the rest of the week. Not if it was anything like the previous nightmare.

"Thanks," he mumbled. "Didn't really want to wake up screaming again."

"So you don't remember your dream?" Gibbs asked.

Tony shook his head. "No. Just you waking me up."

"Good," Gibbs stated simply. "Means we can hopefully stop you having them."

"That'd be good," Tony said sleepily. "Can I go back to sleep now?"

He was already asleep before Gibbs could answer, or before he could realize that he'd asked Gibbs' permission to go back to sleep in the first place.

"Gibbs!" Tony yelled after looking down in the basement. "Gibbs!"

"What?" Gibbs said exasperatedly from behind him.

Tony spun around quickly and almost tripped over his own feet and toppled down the stairs.

"Woops," he said sheepishly grabbing onto Gibbs in an attempt to prevent his fall.

Gibbs rolled his eyes. 'What were you yelling about?"

Tony paused. "I'm _bored,"_ he said finally. "There's nothing to do."

"I'm sure you can find something to do," Gibbs said incredulously. "Go read a book."

"I already started one," Tony said irritated. "I thought we were supposed to _hang out_," Tony quoted. "Me reading a book in your house doesn't qualify."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "We hung out all of yesterday," he pointed out.

"That doesn't count," Tony said stubbornly. "We weren't doing anything."

"I was," Gibbs said mildly.

Tony sighed. "Gibbs," he said slowly. "I don't do well doing nothing. I _need_ to be doing something or I'm going to go crazy and your house will suffer."

"Are you threatening my house?" Gibbs asked slowly.

"Yes," Tony answered heatedly. "Come on, Gibbs, you've got to have something interesting."

"Go swimming," Gibbs suggested. "That's active."

Tony blanched. "Anything other than swimming," he said. As much as Tony had hoped he would be able to keep this little bit of information to himself, he had known Gibbs would find out eventually. He'd been on the run since the day he was born, and being on the run didn't exactly leave a lot of time for learning things, including swimming.

Gibbs' eyes narrowed. "Why not swimming?"

"It's cold," Tony tried. "I don't like the water," he tried again when Gibbs shook his head. "Come on, I just don't like swimming," Tony said angrily when Gibbs shook his head again.

"Tony," Gibbs said softly. "I'm not stupid."

"I don't care," Tony said angrily. "We're not talking about it."

"Jesus, DiNozzo, you don't have to be embarrassed about it," Gibbs said forcefully. "It's not your fault."

"Stop saying that!" Tony cried out. "I _know _that! Of course it's not my bloody fault, but that doesn't mean shit, Gibbs. I'm twenty-five years old and I can't fucking swim; no circumstances stop that from being pathetic. I never went to school, hell I couldn't pass a primary school math's exam let alone do the shit required to be a special agent. I don't know what the hell you said to the director, but sooner or later someone's gonna realize that I'm not cut out for this at all!"

Tony was breathing heavily by the time he was finished, and Gibbs looked pissed. "Sorry," Tony said quickly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to go off at you."

"It wasn't me you were going off at," Gibbs pointed out gently. "You've been bottling that up for a while, huh?"

Tony laughed weakly and nodded. "Yeah. Sorry," he repeated.

"Don't be," Gibbs said firmly. "And for the record you're not pathetic. Its better you're alive now than being dead because your parents tried to teach you to swim with vampires following you everywhere."

"I know,' Tony sighed. "Doesn't stop me being embarrassed about it though," he mumbled. "How the hell am I supposed to work at NCIS when I can't swim and can barely add?"

Gibbs sighed. "You can because you're my mate," he stated. "And you're gonna learn to swim, 'cause I would be _pissed_ as hell if you drowned. And if the education bothers you, then Abby and Ducky can teach you, they're the smartest people I know."

"When I said I can barely add, I wasn't kidding," Tony said dubiously. "I doubt Abby and Ducky are gonna want to waste their time teaching me stuff a seven year old would know."

"Hey," Gibbs said firmly. "They wouldn't be wasting their time, got it? You're worth it. If learning that stuff is gonna make you feel better then do it. The homework will give you something to do as well," Gibbs added with a smirk. "You won't get bored again."

"Ha ha," Tony said sarcastically, but he did feel slightly better after hearing Gibbs' words. When he'd been living on the streets there had never been time for embarrassment or insecurities; those were the things that would get you killed. But now that he was here, and he was _safe_, Tony found those feelings weren't so easily pushed aside. Tony didn't want Gibbs to be embarrassed of him, but he didn't see how that was possible. He couldn't see Gibbs _not _being embarrassed of him, especially if he wasn't able to work with him because of his lack of an education.

"Don't worry about it," Gibbs said softly. "It'll be fine. You've got all the time you need."

Tony could only hope Gibbs was right. He wanted to experience all the things he missed out on as a kid, and he didn't want to feel like he was worth less than everyone else because he grew up differently. As much as Tony wanted to _not_ care about what other people thought, he couldn't help it. He didn't want people to think he wasn't worthy of being Gibbs' mate, or that someone would realize that he wasn't meant to be here. He didn't want someone to show up and say this was wrong and send him back where he'd come from. Being with Gibbs made Tony feel safe in a way he never had before, he didn't know what would happen if he lost that.

* * *

Quicker update than normal :] But a little shorter! I think there will be one or two more chapters with Gibbs and Tony feeling each other out before I start to move the time line forward. This series will probably cover some of my favourite episodes *cough* SWAK *cough* So who knows how long this will be! Anyway, hope you enjoyed this one! Thanks so much to everyone whose reviewed, it means a lot!

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	8. Chapter 8

Tony pinned the note to the fridge and hoped like hell Gibbs wouldn't be too mad. He wasn't entirely sure why he was doing this; all he knew was that he needed to get out. He needed to be _alone_, really alone, even for ten minutes. Just to have some time where he knew that no one was watching him, where there were no rules he had to be worried about breaking. He wasn't running away; he didn't want that. He was starting to _like _it here; he had chosen to stay here. He just wanted a little space.

He had to admit that he was a little worried. Tony believed it was safe, but there were always some people who would hurt anyone and anything, and Gibbs had already made it clear that he would definitely attract vampires like that should they be in the vicinity. This would be his first time out without knowing that Gibbs could easily rescue him if he needed it. If anything happened then he would be completely on his own. But Tony needed to see that he _could _be alright without Gibbs there; that he wouldn't _need _the vampire with him every time he walked out the door. Hell, he was starting his training in a couple of days; when he finally became an agent he couldn't expect Gibbs not to chase after a suspect just because he couldn't be alone.

Tony walked out of the kitchen and through the front door, closing it as quietly as he could. He could do this; it was a walk round the block. He'd be fine. Determined, Tony set off. He was far from relaxed, but the independence felt nice.

It was almost disappointing. He walked through the park and around the block, and nothing happened. He was scared alright, he was breathing heavily and he could feel his palms sweating, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. Kids were playing on the swings, couples walked through the park, many with collars adorning their necks. They looked relaxed and _happy_. None of them had had to deal with what he had. None of them feared vampires the way he did. None of them had been thrown head first into their worst nightmare, and then had to deal with the fact they _liked _it.

Tony couldn't help but resent them for it; resent how lucky they'd been. He breathed in deeply and turned to walk back to Gibbs' house. He almost wished he had seen something, _anything,_ that would make him even a little bit anxious about staying with Gibbs, but he didn't. As much as he hated it, he was starting to trust the vampire, and he still wasn't comfortable with that.

Tony refused to think about Gibbs and what trusting him meant. All it resulted in was him feeling guilty and over thinking everything, when all he really needed to do right now was go with it. He was determined to take thing as they came.

When Tony finally arrived home it was silent.

"Gibbs," Tony called out reluctantly. He didn't get an answer. "Gibbs," he tried again. He couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Gibbs wasn't exactly going to be pleased with him. He hadn't wanted to just leave like that, but there was no way Gibbs would have let him go alone. Tony knew Gibbs was just looking out for him, but sometimes he just needed some air, and being in the same house in different rooms really didn't qualify.

"Anthony," Ducky said walking into the foyer. "Jethro's gone out for a run."

"A run?" Tony repeated dubiously, "Really?"

"Yes, really," Ducky answered, "Though the reasons for his run are something we should perhaps discuss."

"Is he really mad?" Tony asked hesitantly.

Ducky shook his head. "Jethro's temper can flare up rather quickly, I'm afraid," he answered, "But he'll cool off."

"I really didn't mean to make him mad," Tony sighed. "I just needed to get out for a bit and clear my head. Alone," he added.

"I'm afraid Jethro might not see it that way," Ducky said softly. "It's not that you went, it's that you didn't tell him you were going."

"He wouldn't have let me," Tony argued. "He might have _pretended _to let me go on my own, but I doubt he would have actually let me."

"He worries," Ducky said simply. "And he only does it because he cares."

"He shouldn't have to worry about me twenty-four seven," Tony said stubbornly. "I can look after myself, and I can sure as hell go for a walk around the block."

"I know you can," Ducky soothed, "As does Jethro. However, you are his mate, and because of that he'll always worry. Twenty years from now he'll worry just as much. He's incapable of stopping, especially when it comes to you."

"It's not my fault that stupid dominant vampires are attracted to me," Tony muttered. "And it's not like they'll just attack me. It's pretty safe here, you've said so yourself." Tony knew that there were still risks, hell there were always people who could hurt you no matter where you were, but he couldn't live the rest of his life worrying about people like that. He had already wasted twenty-five years doing just that.

Ducky nodded. "Nowhere is completely safe, Anthony," Ducky pointed out. "You know that better than anyone. There are always going to be individuals who will do what they want, when they want, regardless of where they are or who they're with. Jethro sees that every day, be it with vampires or humans. He knows too well what can go wrong."

Tony sighed. "I know that," he said softly. "But he can't keep me locked away for my own protection forever."

"He wouldn't do that, and you know it," Ducky chided. "But remember he's giving you more time to adjust to this than anyone else would even consider; perhaps it's time you gave him some back?"

Tony winced. Ducky was right; Gibbs had given him more than enough time to adjust to this lifestyle, hell he had even offered him an out. It was only fair that he let Gibbs adjust to having a mate, even if that meant giving up some of his independence for the time being. "You're right," Tony admitted quietly. "How long do you reckon he'll stay mad for?"

Ducky chuckled. "Jethro isn't one to hold a grudge my boy. He'll be back to his old self in no time. I doubt he'll be angry with you if you explain to him why you left, or the conclusions you reached at the end of it," Ducky added meaningfully.

Tony was relieved when Gibbs finally returned; he hated knowing that he had hurt him after everything that Gibbs had done for him.

"Gibbs," he started but stopped when Gibbs brushed past him and went up the stairs two at a time.

"Ah, he's not in the best mood," Ducky said.

"I honestly didn't think he'd care _so _much," Tony said miserably. "I shouldn't have gone."

"Do you feel better for going?" Ducky asked.

"Not now," Tony answered, and it was true. Now he just felt guilty and unreasonable. It wouldn't have been that hard to ask. Hell, it wouldn't have been that hard to let Gibbs come along either. He could have still thought things over knowing Gibbs was there, but Tony also knew he wouldn't have got the same thing out of the walk. He would still have felt oppressed and irritated that he wasn't fully alone.

"But did you before?" Ducky pressed.

Tony nodded. "Yeah, I did. I needed to be really alone; I just didn't realize it until today. I haven't actually been without Gibbs knowing where I am, without him being within _meters _of me until today. I did need this."

Ducky nodded. "Well, Jethro may not like it, but he'll understand it. We all make mistakes, Anthony, and this one wasn't bad. Just talk and you'll be fine."

"I hope so," Tony said softly. He was nervous, hell he was almost scared. He didn't want Gibbs to change his mind about him; he didn't want Gibbs to not respect him and to think that he was a coward. "I don't think I could handle it if he changes his mind about me," he admitted. "I don't think I can lose him." Admitting that out loud was twice as scary as any walk alone through the park. He needed Gibbs; he didn't think he could do this without Gibbs.

"Oh, Anthony," Ducky said soothingly. "Gibbs isn't going anywhere. He will _never _leave you willingly."

Tony swallowed. "I feel like I rely on him too much," he admitted slowly, "And I don't want to be that dependant on someone, but what if that's what he wants? What if I can't be what he wants?"

"_You_ are who he wants," Ducky argued. "He's not expecting you to be dependent on him. He wants you to trust him, to rely on him. He doesn't want you to lie back and do nothing, and he doesn't want you to be pushing yourself to do everything. You'll work out a balance between you, just like everyone else does."

"This dynamic thing is so damn confusing," Tony said frustrated. "I feel like I'm doing nothing, and I want to know what I should be doing. I hate not knowing anything!"

Surprisingly, Ducky smiled. "That's why you are more suited towards the submissive side of the dynamic than you think you are. You don't want to make the rules; you want to _follow_ them. You like the boundaries, you need them."

"No, I don't," Tony argued, but something Ducky said made him pause. He _didn't_ want to be making any rules; he just wanted to know what he should be doing. He wasn't entirely sure about how he felt about that. He had been making all his own decisions, his own rules since he was fifteen. But maybe now that he didn't have to make his own rules, he didn't _want _to either. He just wanted to let someone else worry about that.

"Just think about it," Ducky suggested. "You don't need to start thinking about what it _means _for you. Just consider that it might be something you _want_."

Tony nodded. "I will,' he said. "I think I'm gonna head upstairs." Tony motioned his head toward the staircase, knowing Ducky would get the hint that he wanted to be alone.

"Don't fret, Anthony," Ducky said soothingly. "Go rest, Jethro won't stay mad for long. I doubt he's even angry," Ducky added, "More irritated…"

"And hurt," Tony finished as he turned and jogged up the stairs. He really hadn't meant to hurt Gibbs, hell; he hadn't really thought he _would_ hurt Gibbs. He hadn't had people care about him in so long that worrying about what others thought was a new concept. Of course, that was going to have to change. It was obvious Gibbs cared now. It was also now apparent to Tony that he would have to let Gibbs worry, let him be protective. It was the least he could do after everything Gibbs had done.

* * *

Tony groaned and rolled out of bed. He wasn't surprised that he hadn't managed to fall asleep; it was mid-afternoon and all he had been able to think about was Gibbs. He was determined to find him and apologize. It wasn't that he regretting going, and he was determined to tell Gibbs that, it was that he had hurt him and he hadn't wanted to that. He would apologize for the outcome, but not his actions. He had needed to go out alone.

Tony walked out and down the stairs, stopping only when he heard Gibbs and Ducky talking.

"He doesn't trust me, Duck," Gibbs barked, but Tony could hear the hurt. "He could have told me."

"Would you have let him go?" Ducky asked knowingly.

"Of course not," Gibbs answered angrily. "I know it's safe, but shit happens. Shit is a hell of a lot more likely to happen to him than to anyone else."

"You can't keep him locked away from the world and you cannot turn him yet, therefore you have to let him go out on his own," Ducky said reasonably. "If you don't, there's no way he'll be able to trust you."

"Something will happen," Gibbs growled. "I know it will!"

"You're scared," Ducky stated. "You don't want to lose him, but you can't keep him from going out, Jethro. You know that as well as I do. You've just been telling him that this society is completely different to the one he thought it was. He's going to find that very hard to believe it if you make him think he's going to be attacked the moment he steps out without you."

Gibbs sighed. "I know. But it's not just vampires I'm worried about," he admitted. "There's so much out there and he can't protect himself from half of it."

"You know, you didn't worry about your ex-wives going out alone," Ducky commented. "You certainly weren't worried about things like car accidents and what not. You let them live their lives."

"You know why that is, Duck," Gibbs growled.

"Does Tony?" Ducky asked sharply. "You have to know how he feels right now. He's used to relying entirely on himself, used to trusting no one. Now he's got people worrying about him and doing things for him just because they want him to be happy. He's feeling too dependent."

Tony could hear Gibbs pacing and strained to hear what he said next. "I don't know how to make him accept this," Gibbs admitted. "He doesn't need to worry about being dependent or any crap like that."

"All you can do is give him time, and let him do things on his own," Ducky said slowly. "He's confused about dynamics; he feels as if he should be doing more because he's supposed to be the submissive."

Gibbs sighed. "He just needs to do what feels right for him; the rest will work itself out." Gibbs paused, and Tony held his breath waiting for the vampire to continue. "What if time isn't enough? What am I supposed to do if he doesn't want this?" he asked softly.

"You'll let him go," Ducky answered softly. "You wouldn't keep him if he didn't want it."

"Yeah," Gibbs sighed, "But it'll hurt like hell."

Tony wanted to slink away and pretend like he hadn't overheard their conversation but he couldn't do it. Not when he could _hear _how worried Gibbs was, how much he wanted to keep him. How much he wanted to protect him. Swallowing, Tony stepped into the room.

"Anthony," Ducky exclaimed. "We were just talking about you."

Tony thought Ducky was trying to give Gibbs an opening to talk with him, but Gibbs didn't even look surprised to see him.

"He knows, Duck," Gibbs said not taking his eyes off Tony.

Ducky's eyes widened in realization. "I see," Ducky chuckled, "I don't believe I need to be here for this discussion."

"Really?" Tony pleaded, "I don't think I've been looked at like that," Tony motioned at Gibbs, "Since I was twelve and wandered off."

"I'm really not surprised you got in trouble considering where you were when you wandered off," Ducky said sternly. "And since you appear to have been eavesdropping for quite some time, then you are well aware that Jethro is not angry with you as such. Now, I think I can leave you two alone for now," Ducky added before walking out the door, ignoring Tony's pleading look.

Tony turned back to Gibbs nervously. "Did you think that I wasn't gonna come back?" Tony asked quietly.

Gibbs sighed before shaking his head. "No," he admitted. "You said you wanted to stay and I believe you."

Tony nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't ask you," he said quietly. "But I needed to go."

"I know you did," Gibbs said. "And I probably wouldn't have let you go if you had asked. I'm still in protective mode when it comes to you," he admitted.

"I know," Tony said, "Ducky explained some stuff to me earlier," he added at Gibbs' confused look. "And he's right. You've made plenty of allowances for me, more than anyone else, so I guess it's only fair that I make some for you."

Gibbs paced around the room briefly before facing Tony again. "It's never lasted this long before," Gibbs stated. "I think it's because you're so new to everything, and too damn innocent about everything. It's driving me crazy."

"How so?" Tony asked.

Gibbs scowled. "I keep thinking about everything that could go wrong. We see so much shit in our line of work, and I don't want you to have to deal with it. And the people we arrest; they're exactly like the kind of people you spent your life running from."

"Good," Tony said vehemently. "I want them off the streets." He paused and took a deep breath. "I know that things can go wrong, hell, I know that better than anyone. But I can't not go out, Gibbs; you know that better than anyone. But," he added before Gibbs could speak again, "I can deal with you coming with me."

And he could. It wouldn't be forever, he knew that for sure; Gibbs wouldn't do that to him. He could deal with temporary, and it wasn't as if Gibbs was bad company. Tony was starting to accept the fact that he was enjoying Gibbs' company. He enjoyed talking to Gibbs, enjoyed spending time with him. He was already getting the feeling that the Council might not be so wrong after all.

* * *

Tony stood on the edge of the pool and looked dubiously down at Gibbs.

"Do we have to do this now?" he asked plaintively. He had no idea what he was doing, and he had no doubt that he was going to humiliate himself.

"Yes," Gibbs said sternly. "Now, get in the damn pool."

"Have you missed the bit where I said I couldn't swim?" Tony complained as he stepped onto the first step. The water lapped around his ankles and Tony had no idea what it would feel like when it was around his waist.

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "No, I haven't," he said moving over to Tony. "That's why you're here."

Tony stepped in again and again until he was standing in the pool, the water level just above his waist. "You want me to be here," Tony tried, "I'm perfectly happy not knowing how to swim."

"Don't lie," Gibbs said, "Walk around for a bit until you get used to the feel."

Tony grumbled but did as instructed. It wasn't like he could convincingly deny it; he hated not knowing how to swim. It was glaringly obvious how unusual that was, and the incredulous look he received from Gibbs when he had had told him cemented how he felt about it. But he'd rather try and learn alone, than have Gibbs watch him flail around.

"Try putting your head under," Gibbs suggested once Tony had walked around for a couple of minutes.

Tony sighed. He wasn't completely incompetent; he knew how to hold his breath after all. He ducked down and let himself be submerged in the water. He couldn't deny it felt a hell of a lot different that ducking his head under in the bath; he was avidly aware of the vast expanse of water around him. Quickly he rose to the surface. "Happy?" he asked.

"Ecstatic," Gibbs said. "Try floating, like this." Gibbs floated on his back and kicked his legs.

Tony knew this wasn't going to end well but followed Gibbs' instructions. And promptly starting sinking. He stood up again. "This isn't going to work," he complained, embarrassed.

"That was your first try," Gibbs shot back. "Try again."

Tony hesitated at first, but tried again. He started when he felt Gibbs' hand under his back holding him up. He looked up at Gibbs. "Now what?" he asked.

"Kick," Gibbs ordered.

Tony kicked his legs and was pleased to find himself moving along in the water. "It worked," he said happily.

Gibbs rolled his eyes, but Tony could see the pleased smile on his face. They went on like that for a while, Tony kicking while Gibbs periodically look his hand off from his back and put it back on, until Tony was happily kicking along on his back by himself.

"What now?" Tony asked once he was standing again.

"Inside," Gibbs answered with a shrug.

"Why aren't we doing anymore?" Tony demanded. "Floating along on my back isn't swimming."

"You've done enough for today," Gibbs said getting walking out of the pool.

"Gibbs," Tony whined. He didn't want to stop now that he'd started and he sure as hell didn't want to end up forgetting what he had learned today.

"Come on, DiNozzo," Gibbs ordered. "I ordered pizza."

"What?" Tony asked as he shot out of the pool. "When?"

"This morning," Gibbs answered. "Figured you'd need the energy after this."

Tony realized how hungry he was and looked at Gibbs sheepishly. "Guess I should have eaten more at lunch, huh?"

"Yah think?" Gibbs shot back. "Go shower. It'll be here in twenty."

Tony nodded and ran up the stairs. He was getting a lot hungrier now than he had been in the previous weeks, and he was starting to see that he was looking healthier. He stripped off his clothes and stepped into the shower, gasping as the cold water hit his skin.

Quickly he washed lathered up his hands and scrubbed down. He let himself enjoy a few minutes relaxing under the flow of the water. Swimming lessons hadn't been so bad, he decided. Gibbs hadn't made him seem stupid for not being able to do it, in fact, Gibbs had made Tony feel better that he was learning so fast. Tony was surprised, though he was getting the feeling that he shouldn't have been, that he hadn't felt weird or freaked out by Gibb's tough. It had felt almost natural. Of course it helped that Gibbs wasn't exactly bad looking. Hell, if Tony was completely honest with himself, he couldn't have done much better in the looks department.

Really, he had done extremely well. He had no idea how old Gibbs was when he had been turned, but he had the body of someone much younger. If Tony hadn't been so freaked out by the prospect of learning to swim, he probably would have looked a lot more. Obviously he'd looked enough though, he thought glancing down at his cock with a glare. He was not going to get himself off when he'd been thinking about Gibbs. Not because Gibbs was a guy, Tony hadn't even bothered trying to argue with the fact he was probably bi or gay, it seemed like an insignificant detail compared to everything else.

No, he wasn't going to get himself off thinking about Gibbs, 'cause Gibbs was _downstairs_. Of course, his cock didn't care about that one bit, and stayed hard and aching regardless of how hard Tony tried to make it _go away_.

"I hate you," he muttered grasping it with a firm hand. It was better this than walk downstairs with a hard on. Gibbs would notice that in a second.

Tony brought himself off with firm hard strokes, trying his best to think of woman, even men, but definitely _not_ Gibbs. Of course, since he was trying so hard not to think of Gibbs, Gibbs ended up being the only thing he could think of.

Everyone he thought of kept morphing into Gibbs. Gibbs kissing him. Gibbs going down on him. Him going down on Gibbs, which made his cock leap and his stomach jolt in a way that it hadn't done before. When his brain decided to supply him with an image of Gibbs fucking him, he gave in and came, gasping and clinging to the shower door to remain upright.

When he was positive that he wouldn't collapse, Tony rinsed off and got changed. He wasn't going to waste time analyzing what had just happened; it was obvious he was attracted to Gibbs, that didn't mean he was actually _ready _for more. But it was good to know that he didn't seem to have an issue with gender.

When he went downstairs to join Gibbs, the pizza was already there.

"I'm starving," he said grabbing a piece and flopping down on the couch.

Gibbs sat down on the chair. Tony thought that seemed a little off; Gibbs had always sat with him, but Tony didn't think too much of it. It wasn't until Gibbs had barely spoken and the periods of awkward silence had gotten to be too much did Tony think something was up.

"Have I done something?" Tony demanded when Gibbs refused to make eye contact with him again.

Gibbs shook his head. "No."

"Well what the hell's going on then?" Tony asked worried. He really didn't want to piss Gibbs off, but he couldn't think of any other reason as to why Gibbs was acting like this.

"I'm not annoyed at you," Gibbs clarified.

"Then what are you? 'Cause something's wrong?" Tony asked.

Gibbs groaned. "Nothing important."

"Yes it is," Tony pushed. "And you can't expect me to ever trust you if you don't tell me shit," he added hesitantly.

Gibbs sighed. "It's a vampire thing," he tried. "You should ask Ducky."

"Ducky isn't a vampire," Tony pointed out. "And I want to hear it from you."

Tony didn't think he'd seen Gibbs look this awkward before. It would have amused him if he hadn't been so worried he'd done something wrong.

"It's to do with the whole senses thing," Gibbs started. "Being able to smell certain things."

"What…" Tony started and then paused. "Oh, no fucking way. You cannot smell that on me!" he exclaimed.

"I sure as hell can," Gibbs shot back, "And it's damn distracting."

"So what the hell am I supposed to do?" Tony asked. "Just not do it?"

"No," Gibbs groaned. "Just don't come near me afterwards!"

Tony probably should have felt embarrassed, but he wasn't. He was more irritated than anything. This was one thing that bothered him; the feeling that he had no privacy at all. He suspected that as time went on, he wouldn't want any from Gibbs, but right now he was still feeling a little overwhelmed.

"I really am never going to be able to hide anything from you, am I?" he asked quietly.

Gibbs seemed to sense that he was feeling a little more than annoyance, and moved to sit with him on the couch. "I don't want you to want to hide anything," Gibbs said softly. "But you could if you really wanted to," he added reluctantly. "I can't read your mind. I don't know how you feel or what you want unless you tell me."

"You've done a pretty good job at knowing how I'm feeling so far," Tony said.

"I can read people," Gibbs pointed out. "I can read them from their actions, their body language but I can't read their minds."

"Seems like it sometimes," Tony said wryly. "It's not too distracting is it?" he asked warily. "I don't want to make things awkward."

"You're not going to make things awkward," Gibbs reassured. "Don't get too worried."

"Kinda hard not to when you're gonna know every time I get off," Tony grumbled. And there was the fact that Gibbs had been the main star of his earlier session. He didn't know how Gibbs would react if he knew that.

"If it helps I won't say anything," Gibbs offered, "And now you know I'll know so you can wait a while before seeing me."

"There's not much else I can do is there," Tony said helplessly. He sure as hell wasn't going to stop getting off. And now he could do it _a lot_ more than he could before; he definitely didn't have to worry about attracting the attention of other vampires. It was a small price to pay to have Gibbs know. Gibbs at least wouldn't try and kill him or worse.

"Not really," Gibbs affirmed, but he had obviously noticed Tony had calmed down slightly about the idea. "I'm gonna go work on the boat," he said standing. "You wanna come down?"

Tony shook his head. "I might stay up here for a bit," he answered. Being alone for a bit sounded good, "I'll watch a movie. I might come down later," he offered.

Gibbs nodded. "Alright," he said before grabbing their empty plates and leaving.

Tony didn't pay much attention to the movie. His thoughts were too focused on Gibbs. He couldn't stop thinking about the vampire. It was like Gibbs had taken over his mind. It didn't help that Gibbs had been the main attraction when he had jerked off; now his thoughts didn't always involve a clothed Gibbs.

Sighing, Tony switched off the television and stood up. He didn't really want to confine himself downstairs with Gibbs right now, but outside sounded good. He walked through the kitchen, grabbing a discarded jersey, and sat down on one of the deck chairs.

It was cold, and he couldn't help but draw his arms around his body for warmth. It was nice out here, Tony decided, it was quiet and he wasn't worried about any vampires other than Gibbs, and not in a bad way. Tony was more worried about how he was feeling about Gibbs.

Tony shook his head; he'd come out here to try and clear his thoughts, not have Gibbs take over them again. Standing, Tony moved out onto the lawn and lay down onto his back and breathed in deeply. The crisp air invigorated him, as it passed into his lungs. He closed his eyes and focused just on breathing. In and out, in and out. It was nice being out here, not thinking. He hadn't had much time in his life to do this.

Tony didn't know how long he stayed there staring up at the pitch black sky. He'd never felt as peaceful as he did right now. He wasn't feeling any pressure from Gibbs or from himself. He wasn't feeling like he had to do anything. Everything was happening at a pace he felt comfortable with. He was attracted to Gibbs, that much was obvious, but being attracted to Gibbs didn't mean he was emotionally ready for anything, and it didn't mean that he had to act on anything.

Tony felt acceptance thrum though his veins; he wasn't running and he wasn't hiding. He was just being. He hoped his parents had been able to find something close to this feeling during their lifetime.

"'s nice out here," he commented quietly when he heard Gibbs walk up behind him.

"You have damn good hearing," Gibbs said just as quietly. "You wanna be left alone?"

Tony shook his head. "Nah, it's okay."

Gibbs silhouette sat down next to him. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised to find you out here," Gibbs commented softly. "But you keep doing it."

"Doing what?" Tony asked turning his head to look at Gibbs.

"Surprising me," Gibbs answered. "Would have thought that being out here alone would be the last thing on your to do list."

Tony shrugged awkwardly. "I don't think anyone's gonna attack me," he said.

Gibbs chuckled. "I think they'd be in for a hell of a surprise if they did."

Tony grinned into the dark. "Well I wouldn't want to make it easy for them."

"Of course not," Gibbs said seriously before they lapsed into silence.

"Gibbs?" Tony asked eventually.

Gibbs turned his head to face Tony's. "Yeah?"

Tony licked his lips before asking, "There's nothing that you're not telling me is there?"

"What do you mean?" Gibbs asked propping himself up on one elbow.

"There's nothing that's gonna make this all go away is there," Tony whispered. "No stupid clause or loophole? It's only up to us now right? 'Cause I need to know now if this could all disappear. I need to know," Tony stressed, "'Cause I couldn't take it if this got taken from me."

Gibbs looked at him intently. "It's only us," he answered seriously. "No one else; no one but us decides that this ain't gonna work or that you don't wanna be here. Short of me abusing you, which would never happen, no one can interfere."

"What if someone lied?" Tony asked in quiet desperation. "And said you were."

"The council would know, Tony," Gibbs answered grasping Tony's shoulder and squeezing. "Trust me; this isn't going anywhere. I'm not going anywhere."

Tony nodded thickly. "Okay," he whispered. "I trust you."

Gibbs continued to stare at him intently, and before Tony knew what he was doing he was moving closer to Gibbs. Gibbs didn't move at all; he just watched Tony cautiously and let him move.

Tony swallowed and stared at Gibbs' mouth wondering what the hell he was about to do.

"Gibbs," Abby yelled, "I can't find Tony anywhere! You better be out here."

"Oh my god, I interrupted something, didn't I?" She gasped. "Oh no, I'll leave. You guys can just recreate the moment."

Tony almost laughed at the frustration in Gibbs' eyes, but he was too busy having his own little freak-out over what had almost happened.

"It's fine, Abby," Gibbs said. "What did you want?"

"I was going to bed, and wanted to say goodnight to Tony," she answered sheepishly. "And I couldn't find him."

"Tony's fine," Gibbs said, seemingly aware that Tony didn't want to deal with Abby right now.

Tony felt Abby's gaze on him, and he knew she wouldn't be fooled but she didn't say anything to him. "Are you sure you don't want some candles?" she asked Gibbs cheekily.

Gibbs pushed himself off the ground. "No, Abbs. Come on, you've gotta work tomorrow."

Abby pouted. "I wish I had a vacation."

"No one's stopping you," Gibbs pointed out. "You've got enough time saved up."

Tony sighed and stood up. "I might hit the sack as well," he said stretching. "Doing nothing all day makes me tired as hell," he added with a grin at Abby, who stuck her tongue out.

"I'll be up soon," Gibbs said.

Tony nodded. "Alright." He turned and walked back inside. He had to admit he was more than a little nervous, he had no idea what the hell had come over him back there. Kissing Gibbs? The thought hadn't even really crossed his mind before now. Tony wasn't sure that he wasn't trying to dive head first into something that he wasn't quite ready for. He could only hope Gibbs would get that.

* * *

Tony was lying in bed staring at the ceiling when Gibbs walked in.

"Gibbs?" Tony asked quietly. "About what happened back there…?"

"It's fine, Tony," Gibbs interjected. "I'm not going to be offended or whatever else is going through your head."

"How do you even know what I was going to say?" Tony demanded. "I could have been asking for it to happen properly."

"No you weren't," Gibbs said reasonably. "I know you; Tony, maybe not every little detail, but I know the important stuff. You're not ready."

"It's only a stupid kiss," Tony muttered. "That shouldn't freak me out."

"I don't think it's the actual kissing that freaks you out," Gibbs said thoughtfully, "I think you're worried about what it _means_, and what could follow it."

Tony sighed. "Yeah, I know," he said quietly. "I hate being so uncertain all the time."

"I know you do," Gibbs soothed, "But it will get easier, and at the rate you're going, you'll be sure of everything in no time."

Tony nodded. "You know I'm not that tired," he said abruptly. "I just said that to leave."

Gibbs snorted. "I'm not stupid, Tony, and don't think Abby is either," he warned. "But it wouldn't hurt you to have an early night. You've got about twenty-five years of sleep to catch up on," he said reasonably.

"I can't fall asleep unless I'm tired," Tony argued. "I'll just lie here being bored."

"You _are _tired," Gibbs argued back, "Just close your eyes and stop thinking."

Tony huffed, but complied. He had a sinking feeling that Gibbs would be right; the vampire had an annoying habit of doing that, especially when it came to him.

"You can lie down here, you know?" Tony suggested quietly. "It'll be more comfortable than that damn chair."

"I'm fine," Gibbs said. "Get some sleep."

"Not unless you come here," Tony argued. "It's not gonna freak me out."

"My self-restraint is pushed around you normally, Tony," Gibbs forced out. "I'm not about to test it lying next to you in a _bed_."

That was a surprise. He knew he was attracted to Gibbs, that had been made obvious to him earlier, but he hadn't really thought about how attracted Gibbs was to him.

"I was thinking about you, you know," Tony said suddenly. "Before I came down for dinner. Just thought you should know that. I'm not freaking out over what's gonna come in the future." Tony grimaced at the unintentional pun, but let the words stand.

"Your body's ready for more," Gibbs said, "But your mind isn't. It can wait till then."

"I know," Tony said with a wry smile. "I wasn't propositioning you. I just needed you to know I'm not going to have a sexual identity crisis on top of everything. That seems stupid considering everything."

Gibbs snorted. "I didn't think that was going to be an issue considering how you've dealt with everything else. No one is really anything other than bi-sexual these days," he added, "People want to fall in love. They don't care who it's with."

Tony had never had any time to be bigoted, hell, most people didn't these days. Obviously the prospect of spending the rest of their lives with someone they loved outweighed any issues anyone had with gender. "That's how it should be," he said quietly.

* * *

Tony woke up to Gibbs shaking him, and was irritated and upset to find his heart racing and his skin damp.

"Dammit," he swore, letting his head thump back down onto the pillow. "I didn't wake up?" he asked.

Gibbs shook his head, and Tony realized he was still grasping Gibbs' arm and quickly let go. "You just started screaming; no warning."

"I can't remember it," Tony admitted quietly. That wasn't entirely true; he vaguely remembered his parents and the vampires who had killed them, but not much else, and the images were fading fast.

"That's something I suppose," Gibbs said sitting back. "It's only been two hours. You think you can go back to sleep?"

"I don't know," Tony answered hesitantly. "Normally I can't."

Gibbs sighed. "Try," he suggested, "And if you can't we'll think of something then." Gibbs moved to get off the bed, but Tony grabbed his arm.

"Don't go," he said quickly, flushing. "Do your work here, just until I can sleep."

Gibbs sighed but acquiesced. "Alright," he sighed before grabbing his folders and returning to the bed.

Tony refused to think too much about why he wanted Gibbs there. He knew the vampire made him feel safe in a way no one else had before, and he was hoping that would enable him to fall back to sleep.

Tony kept his eyes shut as he felt Gibbs settle against the bed. "What are you working on?" he asked quietly.

Gibbs hesitated. "Petty officer was killed,' he said reluctantly. "We're looking for a vampire killer."

"That happen often?" Tony asked, "Having vampires commit homicide?"

"No more often than humans," Gibbs answered. "They're more violent," he added, "Which is what you'd expect."

Tony was silent. He knew too well how violent vampires could be, and he couldn't picture any human being able to perform some of the acts of violence he had seen vampires do, simply because they didn't have the physical strength.

"We shouldn't be talking about this now," Gibbs said firmly. "It won't help you sleep."

Tony nodded. "I know," he whispered, "But I want to know more about what I should expect when become an agent."

"You don't have to be an agent, Tony," Gibbs said gently. "If you hate it, or it's too much then we'll work something out."

"It wouldn't work," Tony argued. "You're an NCIS agent. You can't not go out to the crime scenes because it bothers me. And I doubt you'll leave me alone all day while you're out."

Gibbs shook his head. "I wouldn't. But I'm not making you come out to crime scenes when you're not comfortable with them. I don't have to work crime scenes. There are other things both of us can do for NCIS."

"Maybe for you," Tony argued self-deprecatingly. "I can't do shit."

"Hey," Gibbs said sharply. "That's not true and you know it. You survived; that takes a lot of skill, doesn't matter that it's not academic. You can study and work. If you hated NCIS that much then we'd leave," Gibbs added.

Tony's eyes snapped open and he rolled to his side, staring at Gibbs. "You'd leave NCIS for me?" he asked incredulously.

Gibbs narrowed his eyes. "Tony, I'd do _anything_ for you," he said strongly.

"Why?" Tony exclaimed. "How can you feel so strongly for me already? It's insane!"

Gibbs snorted. "Maybe it is," he stated. "All I know is you bring out all my instincts in a way none of my ex-wives bar Shannon have done. I already know you're different than the others, including Shannon. I know you're gonna be worth anything I have to give up now."

Tony couldn't think of anything to say. It was still almost impossible for him to understand _why_ Gibbs wanted to keep him so badly. There were so many subs that would have been so much easier for Gibbs to handle. They wouldn't have issues with vampires, and they wouldn't make Gibbs have to consider giving up his job. Then again, Gibbs had said he didn't do easy. Maybe that's why Gibbs liked him, because he wasn't broken in and easy. He was challenging and hard and there for Gibbs to work with.

"You mind how hard it's gonna be?" He asked quietly, needing the clarification from Gibbs. "Even if I made you quit your job and move to an island with no vampires."

Gibbs snorted, but nodded. "Even then," he affirmed.

Tony swallowed thickly and breathed out. "I still can't believe this sometimes," he admitted quietly. "I thought I'd be dead by the time I was thirty. I thought if I was ever caught by vampires I'd be sold off as some kind of sex slave, and passed around to vampires until I pissed someone off enough to kill me. I never thought I'd get all this," he said motioning around the room. "I never thought people would ever _care_. I never thought anyone would ever really _want _me. Not the way you do."

Tony didn't miss the anger that flared up in Gibbs' eyes at his words, but he stayed silent waiting for Gibbs to speak.

"Well you don't have to worry about that anymore," Gibbs said firmly. "We all care. I want you, and I'm sure as hell not letting you go."

If Gibbs had said those words three weeks ago, Tony would have been angry and would probably have gone off at Gibbs saying how he wasn't Gibbs' and wouldn't ever be Gibbs'. Now the statement gave him a feeling of safety that he didn't think he'd ever feel.

* * *

Tony woke up to the feel of a solid chest underneath his head and a body pressed along his side.

"Morning," Gibbs said, and Tony could feel his chest rumble beneath his. He didn't really want to acknowledge how good it felt to have Gibbs lying next to him, but apparently his body did it for him.

"Morning," he said rolling onto his back and sitting upright. "Sorry about that," he mumbled, hoping Gibbs hadn't noticed his reaction to his close proximity.

Gibbs smirked, but that was the only indication that he gave to show that he might have noticed. "Nothing to be sorry for," he said instead. "You slept the rest of the night," Gibbs pointed out.

"Did I sleep on my stomach the whole night?" Tony asked curiously.

Gibbs nodded. "That unusual?"

"Yeah," Tony answered. "I always sleep on my back; front's too vulnerable." Tony had learnt the hard way how much slower it was for him to spring into action when he had fallen asleep on his back. It was pretty obvious what it meant that he had slept the whole night on his stomach when he was with Gibbs.

"Well you can sleep however you damn well want now," Gibbs said firmly. "You don't have to worry about that shit anymore."

"That's gonna take a long time to get used to, Gibbs," Tony said wryly. "I've spent my whole life worrying about that shit."

"You've got the rest of it to stop doing it," Gibbs retorted rolling chucking the folders on the ground and rolling out of bed. "You want breakfast?" he asked.

Tony nodded. "I could eat."

"Anything in particular?" he asked.

"I can make something," Tony tried, but Gibbs stopped him.

"Tony," he said slowly. "Anything in particular?"

Tony sighed. "No. Anything's fine."

Gibbs nodded and walked out.

Tony groaned out loud as once he was sure Gibbs, even with his vampire hearing, was well out of ear shot, and slumped back down onto the bed. What the fuck was going on with him? It was one thing to let himself live with a vampire. It was another thing entirely to fantasize about one, share a bed with one and try to kiss one. He knew he was being ridiculous and stubbornly shoved down his old feelings. He really didn't care that much Gibbs was a vampire. If he was completely honest it did still bothered him a bit, but those old feelings just seemed so inconsequential in relation to the new ones he was developing, including his apparent growing crush on Gibbs.

Tony snorted. He had a crush on Gibbs. There was no other way to describe it. He was sitting there thinking about the vampire, but there was no way he was ready to make an actual move; last night had made that obvious to him. He still couldn't believe it. He was crushing on a vampire. A vampire who would want to drink his blood, do all kinds of kinky things to him and eventually turn him into a vampire. Tony knew he could come up with plenty of reasons why he should stop this now, why he should take Gibbs up on his earlier offer and walk; he couldn't do it. He was already having feelings for Gibbs after a month. It was impossible to ignore the possibility that Gibbs could actually be the one for him. He knew all about Stockholm syndrome, but Tony was pretty sure that it didn't apply to him. He could leave if he wanted to. Yeah, Gibbs had been taking care of him and Tony saw him as the only safe thing in a dangerous world, but if that was all it was Tony was positive he would have left. He could deal with being on his own, and he could certainly deal with danger. But Tony didn't think he could deal with leaving Gibbs. It wasn't so much the thought of the danger and the being alone; it was the thought of not having Gibbs that frightened him.

Tony still wasn't sure how he had gone from hating Gibbs, to tolerating, to having some kind of teenage crush on him, but he was just going to go with it. He'd already admitted it to Gibbs last night; he trusted the vampire. And he was going to stick with him. Gibbs had said he wouldn't leave and Tony believed him. He was sure there would be plenty of instances where he would freak out or piss Gibbs off. Hell, who know when he would finally be ready to move forward with Gibbs, but Tony knew he had time, plenty of it in fact. He was going to take this slow and do it right. He wasn't going to force himself to move faster than he needed to. He was determined to enjoy himself and enjoy being with Gibbs. As far as Tony was concerned, he had earned taking things slow and enjoying life.

* * *

I'm so sorry about the delay; I've been so busy with study at the moment, it's been hard to find time to write. But at least this one's long :] No one has to worry about me not finishing this story; I've already got plans for all the other chapters, and the main episodes that I want to cover; I've just got to find time to write! But after next week I don't have tests until the end of May so there will be more time to write.

Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed; it keeps me motivated to keep writing :] Thanks also to my lovely beta Finlaure!

Let me know what you think :]

Edit: I fixed the line breaks; for some reason the symbol that I use in word to show gaps in time etc. doesn't show up here! So if anyone was wondering, that's why Tony suddenly morphed over to the pool randomly :]


	9. Chapter 9

I'm determined that some day soon I will be able to post a chapter without an apology about how long it took to write, but sadly it's not this one. I had huge writers block, and I'm still not sure if I even want this chapter, but I thought I'd post it anyway and decide later if I want to rewrite it! It's unbeta'd currently because I didn't want to make you wait any longer, so if you spot any glaring obvious mistakes that make it horrible to read then let me know! This is the only chapter involving Tony's training at FLETC, so for the purposes of this fic, Tony's being thrown into a course that's almost finished, and there is a training centre in D.C. I'm from NZ, so any information I have on law enforcement in America I got from Wikepedia. :] After this chapter Tony will be at NCIS, and the fic will mostly be on his and Gibbs' relationship, thought I still have more angst and hurt!Tony waiting. Anyway, my long authors note is finished, hope you like it at least a little!

* * *

"DiNozzo!" Peters yelled out as they were leaving. "What's the rush?"

Tony groaned inwardly. Vincent Peters had been nothing but a thorn in his side the entire time he had been at FLETC. Peters was a dominant vampire who had seemingly taken a personal offence at Tony's presence. It apparently bothered Peters that Tony had been granted a job with the top team at NCIS, while he hadn't been given any job offers.

Determined to ignore him, Tony kept on walking. He was thankful that Peters was without his friends; it was always worse when they were together. They weren't stupid enough to try anything, especially at a federal training centre, but that didn't stop them hassling him at every chance they got.

"Hey," Peters tried again. "Don't ignore me; I'm trying to talk to you."

"Well I don't want to talk to you," Tony muttered over his shoulder. Gibbs would be waiting outside, and there was no way Peters would even think about saying something to him when Gibbs was in hearing range.

Unfortunately Peters knew that as well. He grabbed Tony's arm and yanked him back.

"Come on," he said cheerfully. "You don't mean that."

Tony could feel his heart rate pick up and had no doubt that Peters had noticed as well. "What do you want?" Tony asked trying to pull back his hand.

Peters grinned and tightened his hold. "I just wanted to chat. You're not in a rush now are you?"

"Actually I am," Tony retorted wincing. "Gibbs is waiting outside. He gets pissed if I'm late," he added with a grin. "He's quite _possessive._ I don't know how he'd react to me being alone with another vampire."

Peters snorted. "I guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow, won't I?" he said frowning, but let go of Tony's arm. "I don't know how he puts up with you," Peters spat out.

"What?" Tony asked surprised. Peters had no trouble expressing the disdain he felt at Tony going straight into the major crimes unit, but he had never said anything about Gibbs.

"How long do you think he's gonna be this lenient with you?" Peters asked dangerously. "If you were my sub, I would have damned well claimed you by now."

"I guess it's a good thing that I'm not your sub then," Tony said stepping back. He honestly hadn't seen this coming; he had always thought that Peters was just jealous. But Tony supposed he shouldn't be surprised, Gibbs had warned him that dominant vampires would be attracted to him. He had just thought that they'd be more obvious about it.

"Not now you're not," Peters said grinning. "Gibbs won't keep you forever, not if you won't put out for him. _When _you're mine, I'll _make _you submit."

Tony didn't bother sticking around to listen to more. He turned and all but sprinted out to where Gibbs was parked. He pulled open the door and shoved himself into the car breathing heavily.

"What's going on?" Gibbs asked surprised.

Tony closed his eyes and breathed out deeply trying to calm down. Being cornered with Peters like that had rattled him more than he'd thought. It was different being verbally harassed by him and his friends when there were other people nearby; it was another thing entirely to be grabbed by a dominant vampire who obviously had a personal agenda with him.

"Nothing," he said eventually. "I'm fine."

Gibbs didn't look convinced even for a second. "You don't normally run into the car, DiNozzo," Gibbs said slowly. "And you sure as hell don't normally have a panic attack when you come in either."

"I wasn't having a panic attack," Tony mumbled. "Can we drop it please?"

Gibbs' eyes narrowed. "What the hell is that?" he asked suddenly, grabbing Tony's arm. He let go when Tony hissed in pain.

"It's nothing," Tony said, trying to sound casual but sounding more defensive than anything. He hadn't realised how hard Peters had been holding him, but already there was a bruise forming on his arm.

"That isn't nothing," Gibbs said firmly. "What the hell happened?"

"Nothing I want to talk about," Tony said adamantly. He knew exactly what would happen if Gibbs knew what they had been saying to him. He already knew he looked pathetic, he didn't know what people would say if Gibbs came to his rescue.

"I don't care if you want to talk about," Gibbs ground out. "That wasn't a request."

Tony felt his stomach drop. "I'm not gonna talk about it," he whispered not looking at Gibbs even when he heard him growl. "You still think you're gonna want me?" Tony asked quietly. "I don't know if I'm ever gonna do what you want, when you want me to."

"What?" Gibbs asked surprised, and Tony looked up at the honest confusion in his voice. "You really think I'm gonna change my mind 'cause you don't do what I ask?"

Tony didn't answer. Peter's words had hit home. Tony wasn't sure how much longer he could keep Gibbs waiting. The vampire had been inordinately patient with him, but Tony could tell that it was hard. He wasn't sure Gibbs would be able to handle having him around if he decided he wasn't able to submit. He knew that Gibbs wanted him now; he knew that Gibbs enjoyed his company. He definitely knew Gibbs was attracted to him. But he didn't know if that attraction would last when Gibbs realised that he couldn't change. Tony didn't think he'd ever be able to be the sub that Gibbs needed. He knew that Gibbs had said it would last, and Tony believed Gibbs believed his words. Tony trusted Gibbs, but he wasn't sure that was gonna be enough. Gibbs had needs, he'd admitted that straight away, and Tony wasn't sure he was gonna be able to fill them. Gibbs was always going to need someone to submit, and Tony didn't think he would be able to do that.

"I meant what I said," Gibbs said harshly grabbing his shoulders. "I'm not going anywhere. _This _isn't going anywhere."

Tony shuddered slightly. "What if I don't change?" he whispered. "You're a dom. What if I can't be a sub?"

Gibbs sighed. "Tony," he started slowly. "I know this is hard for you to understand, I get that, but the Council wouldn't have paired you with me _unless _you were a sub. You might not feel like it right now, but believe me; you _will _be able to submit."

Tony breathed out in relief and leant into Gibbs. "I know," he said softly as Gibbs wrapped an arm around him. "I do know. Sometimes it just seems like everything is going so fast and other days it seems like nothing's changed."

"I don't care how long it takes you," Gibbs reassured gently. "You'll get there someday."

Tony nodded. "I will," he promised quietly. "I'm not giving up on this either."

Three months ago Tony would have never pictured himself with Gibbs; now he couldn't picture himself without Gibbs. He had to admit; at first he had thought nothing would develop between them; that their relationship would always be platonic. He had been surprised at how fast he had developed feelings for Gibbs, at how fast he had trusted Gibbs, even if it had felt like forever.

"I know you won't" Gibbs responded just as quietly. They stood there in silence for a few moments until Gibbs spoke again. "This doesn't mean you don't have to answer my question," he said sternly.

Tony snorted and looked up at Gibbs. "I didn't think so," he said wryly. "But," he added, "I'm still not gonna say anything if you go charging in there. It'll just make things worse."

"I can't promise that, and you know it," Gibbs said firmly. "But I can promise to be subtle if I think anything needs to be done," he allowed.

Tony sighed. He figured that would be as much leeway as Gibbs was gonna give him before charging in and interrogating every student at FLETC. "Some of the other agents think I'm getting in the easy way," he started. "It's not like they're wrong," Tony continued softly, "I am getting in easy, I never tried to deny it. I just don't need to hear everyone say it all the time," he finished miserably.

Gibbs growled low in his throat and Tony winced at the irritation on his face. "I know it's not that big of a deal," he backtracked quickly. "They'll all get over it eventually. I'm just like the posh rich kid that no one likes."

That didn't seem to appease Gibbs any; if anything it made Gibbs more annoyed. "There shouldn't be anything for them to get over," he said angrily. "It sure as hell doesn't explain your arm; words don't do that. And for the record," he added strongly, "I wouldn't have had you put in this course if I didn't think you would make a damn good agent. It doesn't mean squat if you can do math or not out in the field; instincts are the most important thing, and you've got them in spades."

"I know," Tony said eventually. "It's just hard to believe that sometimes, especially when everyone else is saying something else entirely. But give it another day," Tony pleaded. "Just get Jack to put me in a different group. If they still act up then you can do what you want." 

* * *

Being in another group had made all the difference in the world. There had been no way Gibbs was letting him go back into his original group, especially when Tony wouldn't give him any names. They had compromised, and now Tony was in another group but hadn't ratted anyone out from his old one. It had bothered Gibbs to no end, but Tony wasn't going to get Peters kicked out over one physical altercation, no matter how much it had bothered him.

There was a mixture of people and vampires, both dominant and submissive, in his new group, and they had all treated Tony the same. None of them had put him down or been jealous that he was guaranteed a job. In fact, most of them understood why he was getting a job.

Hell, Jacob, a dominant vampire, had said that if Tony were his sub there would be no way in hell that he wouldn't be working alongside with him. They all thought Gibbs was doing the right thing, especially considering Tony's history with vampires. It wouldn't do anyone any good to have Tony working without Gibbs.

"DiNozzo," Jacob yelled, "You coming out tonight?"

They had finally finished training, and their group was going out to celebrate. As much as Tony wanted to go, he was exhausted and was looking forward to spending the evening with Gibbs.

"No, I think I'll give it a miss," he said apologetically. "I don't think Gibbs would be that keen on it anyway."

Gibbs hadn't been impressed that Tony had befriended a dominant vampire, and Tony had a sneaking suspicion Gibbs had found a way to warn Jacob to keep his hands off. That had amused Tony to no end, and he was quick to reassure Gibbs that although he liked Jacob, he still got nervous if they were ever alone together. He didn't trust Jacob like Gibbs, and Gibbs had absolutely nothing to worry about. Tony didn't think there was ever going to be anybody that he trusted as much as Gibbs.

Jacob had picked up on Tony's nervousness when they were alone together and had made a conscious effort to make sure they always talked when there were other people around. When Tony mentioned that to Gibbs he could tell Gibbs had gained a certain level of respect for the other vampire.

"He could come?" Jacob suggested easily. "The guys won't mind."

Tony scrunched up his face. It had been months, but Gibbs was still overprotective and Tony was still nervous about going out. He shook his head. "I don't think either of us is quite ready to go out yet," he said with a wry grin.

Jacob snorted. "Still think Gibbs will tear someone apart if they hit on you?" he asked with a grin.

Tony nodded. "Oh yeah."

Jacob laughed. "Good. You need a dom like him to keep you out of trouble."

"I don't get into trouble anymore," Tony said indignantly.

Jacob raised an eyebrow. "Oh yes you do," he said chuckling. "You've got yourself into more mishaps during this training than anyone else."

Tony sighed. "None of that was my fault," he said stubbornly. "Trouble finds me."

"And you need Gibbs to get you out of it," Jacob added. "I'm gonna catch up with the guys," he added jerking his head forward. "Gibbs picking you up?"

Tony nodded as he checked through his bag. "Damn," he muttered. "I left my jacket in the changing room."

"Trouble," Jacob repeated. "I'll walk with you, just in case more seems to come your way."

"Shove it," Tony said well naturedly. "I'll be fine. You go catch up with the guys."

Jacob hesitated. "You sure?"

"I'm not a kid," Tony placated. "It's two minutes away. Trouble can't find me that quickly," he added with a grin. "Go on, I'll see you Monday."

* * *

Tony grabbed his jacket and turned around only to walk straight into someone.

"Shit, sorry," he said only to freeze when he saw who exactly he had walked into. "Peters," he acknowledged quietly, suddenly wishing he had taken Jacob up on his offer to walk with him.

"DiNozzo," Peters sneered. "I thought you'd run off home."

"Nope still here," Tony said with a grin. "I'm surprised you're still here," he added. "I thought FLETC had certain standards to maintain? They must have lowered them."

Tony winced when he saw the look on Peters face. Sometimes he really wished he could keep his mouth shut.

"Well," he stared happily. "I better get going. Don't want to leave Gibbs waiting and all."

Tony brushed past Peters, but was quickly yanked back. "Hold on a second," Peters said dangerously. "We've got so much catching up to do. I'm sure Gibbs won't mind waiting. And if he doesn't, well, it's a big place here." Peters gestured around. "I'm not entirely sure he'd think to check here first, now would he?"

Tony grinned. He loved it when people underestimated Gibbs. "Well, let's just say that if I'm not in his car in the next five minutes, there won't be a single _rock_ in here that he hasn't looked under."

Peters got a feral look in his eyes as he smiled. "Well, there are a lot of things that can happen in five minutes."

For the first time Tony noticed that Peter's fangs were extended. Peters had always been a thorn in his side, but Tony hadn't actually thought that he would attack him. Now he wasn't so sure.

"You really don't want to do that," Tony said stepping back.

"Oh I really think I do," Peters said. "Gibbs hasn't staked a claim on you yet, so I think I will."

Tony could feel his heart already racing, but he knew he had to try and keep himself calm. The more agitated he got, the more entertained Peters would be.

"I'm his _mate_," Tony said trying to edge around him. "That's claim enough."

"No, it's not," Peters said softly. "Not by a long shot. Think Gibbs will still want you after I've already had you?"

Tony nodded adamantly. "He will," he stated. "Gibbs isn't the type of dom to walk away from his sub. He'll always fight for them."

He hoped his voice didn't give away some of the uncertainty he still felt. He couldn't help it; there was always that little bit of uncertainty that Gibbs would change his mind, no matter how much Gibbs reassured him.

"He won't be able to fight for you if you're already dead," Peters said shoving Tony down. "How do you think Gibbs will react when he finds your body with my marks all over it?"

Tony winced as his head hit the ground, but he still stared up at Peters. "I think he'll kill you," he stated.

Peters knelt down over Tony. "If he finds me," he whispered. "Gibbs sure as hell ain't perfect; I think he'll be too distraught over your death to spend much time worrying about me."

Realisation hit Tony like a tonne of bricks. "This was never about me, was it?" he asked. "This was about Gibbs."

Anger flashed through Peters eyes. "It's really none of your concern. Either way you're not gonna be walking out of here alive."

Fear flooded Tony as it sunk in just how much trouble he was in. Peters was right; chances were Gibbs wouldn't think to look here first, and by the time he did it would be too late. Adrenaline hit Tony, and he did the only think he could think of. He fought back.

Light sparked behind his eyes and he slammed his head into Peter's. The vampire growled in pain but held firm.

"You little bastard," he spat. "I am _really _going to enjoy this."

The room was spinning, and it was all Tony could do to not be sick. He could barely move now, but he still tried to move away. Peter's chuckled and placed his hand over his throat and pushed down. Tony struggled as panic seared through him as oxygen was cut off from his body.

Just as he thought this was it, Peters lifted his arm. Tony gasped and coughed trying to get as much oxygen into his lungs as possible.

"This is much more fun than I thought," Peters said thoughtfully. "I should have just taken you for myself." Peters rubbed himself against Tony as the tirade of words continued. "Fuck, even imagining you tied up at the foot of my bed is getting me hard," the vampire growled.

Tony felt sick as Peters rubbed against him. "Fuck off," he said hoarsely.

Peters laughed and grabbed his face. "Maybe I should just fuck you instead," he suggested casually rolling his hips. "I think it's the least you can do."

Tony ignored the pain in his head when Peters reached for his belt; he struggled and kicked and screamed. Peters ignored everything and shoved his hand over Tony's mouth. He bit down hard causing Peter to yell out in surprise.

"Gibbs," Tony screamed. "Gibbs!"

"Shut up!" Peters said harshly shoving Tony onto his front and pinning him down. His forehead hit the concrete floor, and Tony could feel blood drip down his face. "Gibbs doesn't care. Why would he? You've done more with me than you've ever done with him. Why would he want a mate who won't submit to him?"

Tony's breath hitched in his throat as he struggled. "He doesn't care," he gasped out. "He'll wait as long as it takes."

"Maybe he shouldn't have waited so long," Peters whispered, his breath brushing Tony's cheek.

Tony whimpered as Peters pushed his head against the ground and rubbed against his ass. "Stop," he whispered still struggling feebly.

"I don't think so," Peters laughed rutting against him as he reached under for his belt. Tony clenched his eyes shut and wished he was somewhere else when Peter's weight was suddenly forcefully removed.

"I really think you should have stopped," Gibbs growled.

Tony almost cried in relief, but thankfully he restrained himself. "Bout time you showed up," he said hoarsely, as if he hadn't been begging a few seconds ago.

From the glare Gibbs shot his way, it seemed he didn't appreciate Tony's attempt at humour.

"Right," Tony said shakily. "I think I'm gonna go now." He tried to stand and grimaced as his stomach rolled while the world titled round him. Gibbs, of course, saved the day, grabbing him before he hit the ground. He would have said something, but he was worried he would throw up on Gibbs.

"Dammit, DiNozzo," he heard Gibbs mutter, and he had a strong suspicion he was going to pass out.

"I've got it, Gibbs," Tony heard Jacob say. "Take care of Tony."

"'Cause he's been taking such good care of him already," Peters spat out. "He hasn't even had him yet. You think he's gonna be that bad of a lay, Gibbs?" Peters taunted. "You should have just let me break him in for you."

Tony could have sworn Gibbs snarled, but the world was spinning and everything seemed a bit confusing. He didn't hear Gibbs' response to Peter's taunts; he was quickly scooped up and taken out of the building.

"It's okay," he heard Gibbs say from above. "You're fine; we're going to the hospital now."

The mere thought of going to the hospital made Tony panic. He struggled in Gibbs' arms; there was no way in hell he was going there. He needed to go home. He did not need to be surrounded with a whole bunch of strangers poking and prodding him.

"No," Tony forced out, "No hospital."

Gibbs tightened his hold. "Hey, calm down," he whispered firmly. "You've got a concussion. You need to be checked out."

"I want to walk," Tony said stubbornly ignoring Gibbs. Now seemed like the perfect time to complain about being carried. "I'm fine." He probably would have been more convincing if the whole world wasn't spinning around him. "I think I'm gonna be sick," he mumbled leaning his head and emptying his stomach onto the ground. In hindsight, it probably hadn't been the perfect time to protest, but Tony was too busy throwing up to care.

"Fuck," he heard Gibbs mutter angrily. "I'm gonna kill him."

"I'd rather you didn't go to prison," Tony said weakly wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "You can put me down," he added quietly. "I'm pretty sure I can walk to the car."

Gibbs growled low in his throat, but apparently understood how Tony was feeling. He'd had enough control taken from him today. "Alright," Gibbs agreed, "But lean on me."

Tony wasn't going to say no to that. He could barely stand, let alone walk, but he was determined to do it.

They made it to the car eventually. Tony was well aware that it probably would have taken them a good ten minutes less if Gibbs had carried him, but he already felt like enough of a damsel in distress as it was.

"No hospital," he repeated as he leant his head against the headrest. "Have Ducky look at it."

"If he says you need to the hospital I don't want to hear any complaints," Gibbs said eventually. "You definitely need stitches. And don't you dare fall asleep," he barked as Tony's eyes drifted shut.

"Sorry," he muttered. "You're pretty pissed," he observed quietly.

Tony could just see Gibbs hands tighten on the steering wheel. "Pissed is the understatement of the century," Gibbs ground out.

"Not at me?" Tony hedged. He wasn't sure Gibbs would be pleased that he had wondered off back there alone.

"No, not at you," Gibbs reassured softly. "But now you see what I mean about some dominants," he added, his voice stiff.

Tony nodded, but regretted it when his head throbbed mercilessly. "Yeah, I do." Tony tried to not focus on the throbbing in his head, or remember the way Peters hands had felt on his body. "I'm glad you got there when you did," Tony said quietly. "He would have done it."

"I know," Gibbs said curtly. "But he's not going to get the chance to do it again."

Tony cracked one eye open and glanced at Gibbs warily. "You weren't being serious about killing him were you?"

Gibbs sighed. "I won't be doing it," he said finally. "If he can do it to you, when you're a dominant vampire's mate, then he can sure as hell do it to other humans. Hell, he probably already has. He needs to be taken care of. Vampires like him, they don't stop."

Tony clenched his fists together. He couldn't help but hope that the vampires who had killed his parents had met the same fate. "Good," he said strongly.

The rest of the car trip was spent in silence, although Tony thought that Gibbs had called Ducky at some stage, but he hadn't been able to pay much attention to anything except the throbbing in his head. He was reluctant to get out of the car when they did arrive home, but Gibbs hauled him out and pulled his arm over his shoulder, and all but dragged him into the house.

"You'll be able to sleep soon," Gibbs said quietly, concern evident in his voice. "Ducky's just gotta check you over."

"Mhmm," Tony mumbled, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other without falling flat on his face and dragging Gibbs with him.

"Oh dear," Ducky said as Gibbs lowered him onto the couch. "That's going to need stitches," he muttered as he probed the gash on Tony's forehead.

"Ow," Tony groaned. This was not how he had planned on spending his evening. He had been looking forward to spending the night in with Gibbs, celebrating the fact he had finished training and that he could finally join Gibbs in the office.

"Jethro, could you close the curtains?" Ducky asked pulling out a small flashlight. "Anthony, this will hurt, but I need to check your pupils."

Ducky was right; it did hurt. The light sent a spike of pain through his head; it hurt so much, Tony thought he might be sick again.

"Fuck," he mumbled miserably. He felt so bad he could even think about Peters and what he'd tried to do, though Tony had no doubts that he wouldn't be able to think about anything else soon enough.

From what Tony could see, Ducky looked as angry as Gibbs did, though he was obviously much better at containing it. Tony could almost _sense_ the anger rolling off Gibbs in waves.

"I'm going to give you some painkillers," Ducky said rifling through his bag, "They'll make you drowsy, but you will need to be woken every two hours. I'll stitch your forehead once you've taken them."

"Great. This is just how I wanted to spend my Friday night," Tony sighed, but painkillers didn't sound like a bad thing right now.

"Here," Gibbs said pressing a glass of water into his hand. "Drink."

Ducky handed over the pills, and Tony swallowed them down quickly. "Thanks," he said quietly.

He closed his eyes and lay there in silence as Ducky stitched up his forehead, and applied cream to the back of his head.

"He should be fine, Jethro," he heard Ducky say. "I should be able to take the stitches out in the next couple of days."

"How can he be fine, Ducky?" Gibbs growled. "Peters was about to _rape_ him. How is he going to trust us; we told him he'd be safe, dammit!"

"Stop that," Ducky admonished. "You know full well that you warned Anthony that there were still vampires out there who would want to hurt him, especially because of the way he is. He's strong, he will get through this, but you're not going to help him if you sit here and feel guilty."

Tony felt Gibbs sit on the armrest and run his fingers through his hair. "He's come so far, Duck. How hard is it going to be for him to trust any vampire again?"

"He came back with you, didn't he?" Ducky pointed out gently. "He didn't shy away from you once. You're touching him right now; he doesn't look like he's scared does he?"

Gibbs fingers hesitated before continuing their soothing motion. "He's almost unconscious, Ducky; he doesn't know what the hell's going on."

"I do," Tony argued, albeit almost incoherently. He just wanted to sleep, but he couldn't knowing that Gibbs was feeling guilty. He couldn't knowing Gibbs thought that he'd just go back to how things were because of this. He hated that Gibbs thought that he would revert to his old feelings about vampires, but then Tony supposed Gibbs had no real reason to believe that things wouldn't change. Tony knew he probably would be nervous when he was able to think straight, but even now he knew that he wouldn't go back to hating vampires. It could just as easily have been a human who had attacked him. It was _who_ the person was, not _what _they are that defined them. Tony could see that more clearly now than he ever had before.

He reached up slowly and grabbed Gibbs' hand, intertwining their fingers. "I'll be fine," he muttered. "I'm not scared of you."

Ducky chuckled lightly. "I think you've been outvoted, Jethro," he said packing up his bag. "Remember to wake him every two hours," he reminded Gibbs before patting Tony's hand and walking out.

"I will," Gibbs said softly. "Do you want to go up to your bed?" he asked just as quietly.

It was a tough decision, but eventually the thought of his bed (and the thought that Gibbs would be _in_ the bed) won out over the couch. Tony decided he would ignore the fact that Gibbs all but carried him up the stairs; he felt emasculated enough as it was.

It was almost worth the embarrassment when his body hit the bed.

""s good," he mumbled and promptly rolled over, ready to sleep.

Tony vaguely felt Gibbs tug off his work pants and shirt, but was too out of it to do much other than wriggle around slightly. He became slightly more awake when Gibbs turned off the light and sat in the chair.

"What are you doing?" he asked sharply. Well, as sharply as he could in his current state. It probably sounded more like a sleepy inquiry than anything else.

"Tony," Gibbs started, and he just knew Gibbs was going to come out with something involving Peters, and him needing some space and blah, blah. Tony wasn't having any of it.

"Get in the damn bed," he ground out, wincing when his head throbbed at his raised voice. "I don't care what reasons you have for being over there; forget them."

"I don't want to scare you, Tony," Gibbs said gently. "I'm still here, but I don't think I should be in _there_ tonight."

"Gibbs," Tony forced out, "Aren't you always going on about how you're the dom, and how you like taking care of people? Well," Tony continued without giving Gibbs a chance to speak, "Now's when I really, _really_ need you to be a dom, or whatever the hell else you want to call it. I don't need you sitting over there, I need you here. I need to feel safe. _You_ make me feel safe," he finished.

Gibbs was silent, but eventually got up and climbed into bed next to Tony. "I wish I could kill him,' Gibbs said quietly, but his lowered volume did little to mask the anger in his voice.

"I know you do," Tony mumbled through a yawn. "But I don't need you to kill him. I need you here. And I need to sleep, so please stop talking for the next twelve hours."

"I need to wake you in two," Gibbs pointed out, but Tony was already half asleep. Ducky's painkillers worked wonders, Tony decided. He could barely feel his head, and his body felt like lead. It was easy to drift off to sleep without worrying about Peters or anything else; though Tony knew he wouldn't be able to avoid it for long.


	10. Chapter 10

I'm in the middle of exams right now, so once again, sorry for the delay :[ I'm thinking of putting updates on my profile page so people can see how far through the next chapter I am... Anyway, hope you all enjoy this! And thank you so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter; it was the most reviews I've had for a chapter ever, and it made writing this one so much easier knowing you all liked the way the story was going... So thanks again! And thanks to my beta, Finlaure :]

* * *

Tony normally wasn't pleased to have to be woken up every two hours, but tonight was an exception. Being woken up meant that he wasn't asleep long enough to have any nightmares, or if he did, he wasn't aware of them. Tony didn't doubt that there would be nightmares; he knew there would be. Gibbs probably knew there would be as well. That was probably why Gibbs let Tony cling to him the way he was right now, even though they both knew he would be embarrassed as hell in the morning and pretend like it never happened. When he had been spending his days trying not to become someone's next meal, there hadn't been any time for weakness, and sometimes Tony hated how being safe meant that it was so damn easy to show when he was feeling vulnerable. He didn't want Gibbs to know he was feeling scared and shaken up by Peters' attack. He would much rather Gibbs only knew how angry he was that Peters had shattered his feelings of safety.

Of course, there was no way Gibbs would have believed that he wasn't even a little scared. That was why Tony couldn't be bothered hiding it from him. It was too much effort, and Gibbs always saw through him; it was easier on everyone involved if he just let Gibbs do his thing. He'd just try and not think about how much he liked it.

"You're supposed to be sleeping," Gibbs said quietly.

It wasn't like he could even pretend to be asleep around Gibbs; why try and fake anything else? Well, Tony wasn't exactly known for his intelligence, so he was well aware that he would try and fool Gibbs at some stage (and get caught at some stage) but for now he'd try and be honest. Try being the operative word.

"You're just gonna wake me in two hours," Tony answered grumpily.

Tony felt Gibbs snort softly above him. "Two hours is better than none."

Tony shrugged. "I'm not that tired anymore; I don't think I can sleep."

There was silence between them for a moment before Gibbs spoke again. "You wanna talk about it?"

Tony shook his head. "No," he answered plaintively. At least he was being honest so far. He didn't want to talk about it at all. He'd much rather pretend that it had never happened and that all dominants were like Gibbs and Jacob and that there was nothing about him that made him any different.

"Gibbs," Tony said suddenly, rolling over so he could look at Gibbs. "If something like that happens again…"

"It won't," Gibbs interrupted. "You're working with me now."

"If it does," Tony continued patiently, "Then I want you to do something for me."

Gibbs frowned. "What?" he asked brusquely, and it was apparent that he was aware of where Tony was going.

"If it happens again then I want you to have sex with me," Tony said firmly. "Even if I'm not one hundred per cent ready."

Gibbs shook his head. "I'm not forcing you into anything," he growled, "No matter what it would prevent."

"You wouldn't be forcing me," Tony snapped. "It's going to happen at some stage anyway, and I'd rather it was with you and be consensual, even if it is rushed, than it be rape by some stranger."

"It still wouldn't be consensual," Gibbs argued. "We don't need to be discussing this now."

Tony pulled away from Gibbs and sat up, ignoring the ache in his head. "Yes we do need to discuss it now. I don't want to be a sitting duck, waiting for another dominant to attack me. The only reason they're gonna attack me is cause I haven't had sex before. I won't have to worry anymore if we just do it."

"I don't want to have to 'just do it'," Gibbs growled. "I am not going to let anything happen to you."

Gibbs sounded so earnest and determined that Tony almost gave up, but he didn't. He couldn't, not knowing that he was essentially a beacon for dominants like Peters.

"Five minutes later yesterday and it would have already happened," Tony said softly not looking at Gibbs. "You gonna stick with me every second until I'm completely ready knowing that you'd be making me miserable?"

"Am I that bad a company?" Gibbs asked mildly, and Tony appreciated him trying to lighten the mood somewhat.

"At least think about it Gibbs. I'm not asking you to do it because of Peters. I'm asking you to do it if anything like that ever happens _again_. You're lucky I'm passing Peters off as a one off, because we both know that if something like that happens again I might not be so lucky. I'd much rather we just did it now and got it over with so I didn't have to worry, but I know there's no way that's going to happen."

Not that Tony wasn't going to try. He knew Gibbs wanted him, and he knew he looked good; it couldn't be that hard to drive the vampire crazy. He did it to other dominants without even trying.

"I couldn't do it now knowing that you didn't want it for the right reasons," Gibbs said finally. "But if something like this happens again, which it won't," he said added with a growl, "Then I promise to at least think about it."

"Just think?" Tony said disappointedly.

Gibbs nodded. "Something like that ever happens again and we'll be moving somewhere remote where there are no other vampires until you _are_ready."

Tony laughed. "I think I could deal with that."

That didn't mean he still wasn't going to try and get Gibbs to sleep with him before another attack happened. Gibbs might be convinced that he could keep Tony safe, and Tony had no doubt that the vampire would be perfectly happy to take him somewhere completely isolated right now if he asked, but Tony wasn't. He attracted the worst type of dominants and he wasn't entirely sure that Gibbs would be able to be there twenty four seven, no matter where they were.

Tony yawned loudly, and winced slightly as his stitches pulled at the movement.

"You should take some more pain killers," Gibbs said, noticing the wince immediately.

Tony shook his head. "I'm good," he said lying back down. "I'll try and get more sleep. Do you still have to wake me up? I think we can safely say I'll ace all your questions," he added with a smirk.

Gibbs rolled his eyes and settled back down. "Smart ass," he commented mildly. "You seem fine." But Gibbs still looked concerned.

"I'm really fine," Tony reassured softly. "Mentally as well. He scared me, and that's it. Nothing more."

"I don't want you to be scared," Gibbs growled and for a brief moment seemed like a child who was determined to stop their younger sibling from being scared of the dark, even though it was damn near impossible.

"I'm not scared now, Gibbs," Tony said fondly. "Right now I'm just grateful you go there when you did. Can I have tonight without having to worry about how I should be feeling?"

Sighing, Gibbs nodded and pulled Tony close to him. "You can have as long as you want," he said quietly.

* * *

It was a huge relief to wake up and not feel like his head was going to explode, or that he was going to throw up all over Gibbs. Granted, his head still hurt, but nowhere near as bad as it had the previous day.

"Feeling better I take it," Gibbs said amused as Tony stretched out groaning.

"Much," Tony said happily, arching into Gibbs' touch as the vampire gently ran his fingers through his hair.

"Head feels better?" Gibbs asked concerned. Tony had no idea his he looked right now, but judging from the way Gibbs was looking at him it wasn't great.

He nodded. "Still sore, but that's a given. I don't feel like puking on you now, though," Tony added with a wry grin.

Gibbs snorted. "Great."

Tony was happy to lie there in silence and try to not think about Peters or the way his hands had felt on his body, but his mind had other ideas.

"Can we do something today?" Tony asked. He hoped he masked the desperation in his voice but from the look on Gibbs face he needn't have bothered.

"I don't think there's a lot you can do today," Gibbs said gently. "Anything involving a lot movement is out of the question."

"Then find something else," Tony demanded. He sighed. "Sorry. I just really need to be kept busy today."

Gibbs sighed. "Have something to eat first, and then we'll think of something. What do you want?" Gibbs asked rolling easily out of bed.

Tony's stomach lurched at the thought of anything cooked. "Cereal," he answered succulently. He was momentarily alarmed when Gibbs started to walk out the door. He didn't give himself enough time to analyze why being without Gibbs freaked him out before he was walking next to the vampire, ignoring the way the room spun.

"I thought you'd want to eat in bed," Gibbs said mildly as they walked downstairs.

Tony looked steadfastly ahead. "Nope. Kitchen's fine."

He could feel Gibbs looking at him, but thankfully the vampire didn't comment.

Breakfast was simple and quick; just plain toast and water. Gibbs had wanted him to eat more, but there was just no way that Tony could stomach anything else.

"I'd better get dressed," Tony said once he'd finished. "I don't want to sit around all day doing nothing."

"What exactly do you think you're gonna be doing?" Gibbs asked pointedly following Tony back to the bedroom.

"I don't know," Tony answered pulling his shirt over his head. "And to be honest, I really don't care. I just need to do _something_."

Tony was expecting some argument from Gibbs, but what he got was a sharp intake of breath.

"Jesus, Tony," Gibbs growled. "Look at your damn arms!"

Tony looked down and was surprised to see the dark bruises on each arm, not to mention the light bruising decorating his torso.

"Wow," he muttered examining his arms. "He must have held me down pretty hard." He'd been too busy trying to get away to feel anything other than panic; Tony wasn't surprised that he hadn't actually felt how hard Peters had been holding him.

Tony chanced a glance up at Gibbs and was blown away at the sheer anger on his face. "Uh, do you want to go for a run, maybe?" Tony suggested cautiously. "Or just punch something?"

"It's not something to joke about," Gibbs spat out, his eyes still fixed on the bruising on Tony's arms.

Deciding covering up was probably the best way to go; Tony pulled his sweater over his head. He was relieved to find some, only some, of the heat leave Gibbs eyes once the physical evidence of Peters' attack was covered.

"I'm not joking," Tony said seriously. "You're pissed and it's not gonna do either of us any good if you're like this all day. I won't be able to handle it," he added honestly.

Gibbs sighed heavily. "I can't go for a run," he muttered under his breath.

"Why not?" Tony asked sharply. "You need it."

"A run is not what I need right now," Gibbs shot back, "Tony, you didn't even want me to go to the kitchen without you, I'm not leaving you alone."

Tony flushed and looked away remembering his earlier moment of weakness. Now he wished he had just sucked it up and waited in bed. "What the hell do you need then?" Tony asked angrily, choosing to ignore Gibbs last comment.

"Nothing you can give right now," Gibbs said sharply. "Look," he added more gently, "Just let me take care of you; at least for today."

Tony sighed. It was damn confusing trying to keep track of the dynamics of their relationship, but it always seemed to come down to that; Gibbs wanting to take care of him. Tony didn't know how he was supposed to serve Gibbs if all Gibbs wanted to do was to look after him.

"I don't get this," he said pleadingly. "I don't understand how I'm supposed to be your sub and follow your rules when all you seem to want to do is take care of me. I need to know what else there's going to be."

There was no point trying to deny that Peters' words had gotten to him. He wanted to be what Gibbs wanted, and Gibbs wanted a sub. But Tony still had no idea what that was going to entail.

"Tony," Gibbs said firmly. "The only thing you need to know about it right now is that I want to take care of you. Nothing else matters."

"Yes it does!" Tony winced at his loud tone, but didn't take it back. "If you ever want me to be the kind of sub you want, you need to start telling me what I should be doing. I need to get my head around it now."

Gibbs frowned. "Tony," he said dangerously. "What the hell did Peters say to you?"

Dammit. Tony supposed it was what made Gibbs good at his job, but he really hated how Gibbs was able to read him so easily and piece things together.

"What makes you think he said anything?" Tony responded defensively. It was hard to look Gibbs in the eyes as he spoke, but he did.

"Well, I don't know, maybe because you seem to think you suddenly have to be the 'sub I want'," Gibbs quoted. "And this crap about what you're supposed to be doing. Tony, I want you as my sub not my slave. I'm not going to force you to cook and clean, and I sure as hell ain't gonna make you have sex before you're ready."

"What is it then?" Tony yelled. "What does being your sub mean?"

"It means you're mine," Gibbs growled. "It means everything you are belongs to me; your mind, your body, your soul. I want you to _give_ me everything. I'm not going to take it."

"And giving you everything _doesn't _mean that I'm going to be acting as your slave?" Tony asked suspiciously, cause to him, giving your entire being over to someone kinda sounded like he would be doing whatever the hell they wanted.

Gibbs shook his head adamantly. "No," he said softly, and he looked so sincere, Tony almost believed him right then on the spot, without any sort of an explanation given. "It means you _trust _me to take care of you, and do what's right by you, even if it means making you do things you don't like sometimes. It means you trust me enough to give up your control, and trust that I'm not gonna abuse it."

"And what do you get out of it?" Tony asked genuinely curious, not that he wasn't completely _freaked _out by the idea of giving Gibbs his entire being. They had a long way to go before he would be able to do that.

"I like being in control, Tony," Gibbs said softly. "In the bedroom _and _out of it. You giving up your control _is _what I get out of it. Most of what I'll want you to do once you've given it up _will _be discussed _and agreed_ upon by both of us," Gibbs stressed. "Being my sub doesn't mean you're going to be forced to do anything you really don't want to do."

"Things I _really _don't want to do?" Tony asked picking up on the way Gibbs had slotted the word in. "What about things I just don't want to do?"

Gibbs shrugged. "Sometimes there'll be things that I'll want to do that you might not _like_, but you _need _instead, and I won't hesitate to do them if I think it's what's best. It all depends on whether you trust that I am doing for you, not because I'm trying to make you miserable."

Tony leaned back against the wall and ran his fingers through his hair. "This all seems really damn confusing," he admitted quietly.

"It's not an easy concept," Gibbs admitted, "Especially for someone who isn't born with it as part of their innate nature. It's one of those things that's better explained by practice rather than words."

"When does the 'practice' start?" Tony asked looking Gibbs in the eyes. The sooner it started the better in his opinion. Right now he really didn't give a damn that idea of the whole sub thing still scared him shitless; he needed Gibbs to know that he _could _do it. He hated that Peters' words had made him so unsure about his place in Gibbs' life, and it was only made worse by the fact that he still really didn't know shit about what went on between a sub and a dom.

"Not until _I _think you're ready," Gibbs said firmly. "I don't know what the fuck Peters said to you, but whatever it was, it's _wrong_."

"How do you know it was wrong?" Tony asked quietly. How could Gibbs be one hundred percent sure that he wouldn't get tired of not having someone to fill his dominant needs?

"Because you're acting as if I'm going to throw you out on your ass if you're not a perfect sub in the next week," Gibbs said shortly. "That _is never_ going to happen; even if you never become any sort of sub."

"But you don't think that's going to happen," Tony whispered. "You think I will be a sub."

"I do." Gibbs nodded. "And I think you're gonna be exactly the kind of sub I need. And for the record," Gibbs added softly, "I'm looking forward to finding out what kind of sub you are and training you, just as much as I'm looking forward to actually having a sub."

"Really?" Tony asked wincing at the plaintive tone in his voice.

Gibbs sighed. "Come here," he muttered and pulled Tony close. Tony stayed stiff at first but eventually let his arms wrap around Gibbs and hold on tight.

"Sorry," he mumbled into Gibbs' shoulder. "I want to understand it, and I know you won't throw me out if I don't straight away. I do, Peter's just got to me, that's all."

Gibbs pulled back slightly. "You gonna tell me what he said?" he asked lowly.

Tony was about to shake his head but stopped. "Is being honest about shit like this a big part of being your sub?" he asked cautiously.

Gibbs nodded. "One of the biggest."

Tony sighed. "Guess I should get some practice in, huh?" he said with a forced smile. "Being honest isn't exactly my strongpoint."

"I hadn't noticed," Gibbs said wryly.

Tony smiled for real that time. "Long story short," he started glancing away from Gibbs then back again. "He just said all this shit about you not wanting me cause I won't put out, and that you needed someone who could actually submit to you and so on. There was other stuff about what he wanted to do to me, but that's not important," Tony added on quickly.

"It's important to me," Gibbs growled.

"You already can guess what he would have been saying," Tony said, but really he was asking Gibbs not to make him repeat it. Hearing it in his head was bad enough, he didn't need to say it out loud right now.

Gibbs hesitated then nodded. "Alright," he conceded, though Tony doubted that he would leave it for long. "We're going out," Gibbs added suddenly.

"I thought any movement was out of the question," Tony said curiously.

"There won't be much movement at all," Gibbs said smugly and Tony couldn't help but laugh.

"You look so pleased with yourself right now," Tony chuckled, relieved to leave any conversation about Peters behind them for now. "I take it you've come up with some brilliant idea?"

"Yup," Gibbs said succinctly. "You need something warmer than that on though," he added indicating to Tony's thin sweater. Gibbs fished around inside Tony's drawer for a second before pulling out a thick hoodie. "This'll do."

"Want to pick out my socks as well?" Tony asked amused even as he changed into the hoodie.

Gibbs slapped the back of his head. "Don't be a smart ass. Hurry up."

Tony stuck his tongue out and darted out of Gibbs' range, grabbing some socks as he did so. As soon as he was fully dressed Gibbs dragged him out to the car.

"You gonna tell me where we're going now?" Tony asked looking at Gibbs expectantly.

"Nope. You'll see when we get there," Gibbs answered shortly. "Enjoy the drive."

"I'll get bored," Tony grumbled, but acquiesced and turned his head to look out the window. It didn't take long for the view to change from suburban to city to country. Tony had tried talking as they were driving through the city, but after minimal responses from Gibbs, he gave up and by the time they left the outskirts of the city the car was silent. As much as Tony hated to admit it, he was enjoying the drive. The quiet hum of the engine and the view of the untouched country made it easy for him to relax and zone out. Even thoughts of Peters weren't entering his mind, and neither were worries about whether he would be a good enough sub for Gibbs – or whether he could sub at all. Gibbs had successfully put those worries at ease; at least for now. Tony had no doubt that those thoughts would come back; they were too big to be put aside by one conversation with Gibbs. But at least for now he could pretend like he didn't have them.

Eventually Gibbs slowed down and Tony realized Gibbs had driven them to what appeared to be an old farm.

"It was my Dad's," Gibbs explained quietly at Tony's questioning look. "He signed it over to me when he decided he wouldn't be able to come out here often enough."

"How long ago was that?" Tony asked curiously. He hadn't heard anything of how Gibbs came to be a vampire, or much about his family bar Shannon and Kelly.

"'bout a hundred years," Gibbs shrugged. "Dad passed over a long time ago. I lived here for a while until I moved into the city."

Tony couldn't even comprehend living for that long. He didn't understand how vampire's minds could handle all the memories; all the relationships with humans that would come and go.

"Must have been hard back then," Tony said quietly. At least he had a choice about becoming a vampire, and he had Gibbs to protect him from anyone who wouldn't respect that. It didn't seem like Gibbs had voluntarily become a vampire, and as much as Tony wanted to know how it had happened, he was reluctant to push.

"It was," Gibbs stated gazing out the window. "Things were different; harder. Was worse when I was turned," he offered.

As much as Tony wanted to take the deliberately offered opening, he didn't. "So what exactly are we planning to do here?" he asked. "Especially since moving is out of the question."

"You can still walk," Gibbs smirked, "Just not for long. You can ask, you know?" Gibbs added. "Not fair if I expect you to spill your guts all the time."

Tony snorted. "We've had enough gloomy discussions for today. It can wait."

Gibbs looked pleased that he hadn't had to talk about it, which was enough to make Tony glad he hadn't asked. He knew how much he hated talking about his encounters on the streets and his parents deaths; Gibbs was the same. Tony already knew the vampire was reluctant to talk about Shannon and Kelly, and he considered himself damn lucky that Gibbs had mentioned them as early on as he had. It made sense that Gibbs wouldn't like talking about being turned either.

"Come on," Gibbs said getting out of the car and opening Tony's door.

Tony rolled his eyes and stepped out. "Such a gentleman," he teased sarcastically.

"I can sweep you off your feet if you'd like," Gibbs said deadpanned.

Tony stepped back. "Uh no thanks. I'll walk." He carefully stepped around Gibbs, concealing a smile when he saw the vampire hide a laugh at his exaggerated actions. "Where exactly are we going?" Tony asked once he was sure Gibbs wouldn't actually try and pick him up.

Gibbs jerked his head toward the house and started walking.

"Well, that explains everything," Tony muttered following. If truth be told, he was a little curious as to why Gibbs was bringing him here. Tony would like to think it was because Gibbs wanted to share something of his past with him, and words were not his strong suit. However, Tony found it much more likely that Gibbs was simply trying to distract him, and if driving him for hours all the way out to the middle of nowhere and showing him some old property his father used to own did it, then so be it.

He caught up with Gibbs at the front door and smirked. "Why is it that this place is locked and your own house isn't?" Tony asked in amusement as Gibbs pulled out an old key. He grinned when Gibbs shot him an irritated look and ignored him before stalking into the house.

"Dad always kept it locked," Gibbs answered eventually. "Besides, I'm never here. At home, if someone's dumb enough to break in, I'll just kick their ass. Can't do that up here."

"Fair enough," Tony said. "Uh, so what exactly are we planning on doing here?" he asked skeptically, looking around. The house was pretty much empty, and it was apparent that no one had lived in it for some time; there was dust covering the wooden floors, and no electricity, Tony noted when Gibbs flicked the light switch and nothing happened.

Gibbs shrugged. "Just thought I'd show you. I grew up here; thought you might like to see it."

Suddenly the old house didn't seem quite as dull. "Really?" Tony asked looking around the room again. He really couldn't see how the old house had once held a family. "It doesn't seem like a family house," he said dubiously.

Gibbs snorted. "You're lucky it's still standing. This place has lived through a lot; it's not big or fancy, but it's definitely long lasting." Gibbs patted the wooden door frame as he spoke, and Tony suddenly had a slight insight into where Gibbs had gotten his love of wood from.

"Did your Dad build this?" Tony asked curiously.

"You're sharp today," Gibbs commented. "Yeah, he built it with my Grandfather when he was a teenager," he continued. "Obviously, I've done some stuff to it; wired it up, added plumbing and anything else I thought might be useful."

"Why?" Tony asked. "It doesn't seem like you're ever here."

"I'm not," Gibbs shrugged. "This place has got good memories and bad; sometimes the bad get to be too much. I wouldn't want to live here, don't think I could, but it's nice to be able to visit when I want to remember the good times."

Tony moved around the room, trying to picture a young, human, Gibbs growing up. "What was it like?" he asked quietly glancing across at Gibbs. "Living back then?"

Gibbs scrunched his face a little as he thought. "Hard," he said eventually. "People were always sick, dying. We never had enough money; hell getting food on the table every day was hard enough. I had a brother," Gibbs added softly. "He died when he was four."

Tony winced. "Sorry," he muttered looking away. He really hadn't wanted to bring up bad memories for Gibbs.

"Don't be," Gibbs said sharply. "It was a long time ago. As much as I hate it; I barely remember him. I was only eight when he died."

"Still," Tony shrugged, "I didn't want to bring up bad memories."

"There are good as well," Gibbs said. "There were lots of good times. My family was close; things were hard but we always had each other. I wouldn't have traded that for anything."

"Neither would I," Tony said quietly. That was one thing he would never want changed; he would rather had lived his entire life out on the streets, running from vampires, than have lived in some perfect safe suburban world with parents who didn't give a damn. He never doubted that his parent's had loved him.

"Come on," Gibbs said motioning towards the door. "I'll show you around."

Gibbs spent the afternoon showing Tony around this house, telling him stories of his youth; about the antics he and his brother would get up to, and how his Dad would try and discipline them, but always left it to their mother. He took him out back and showed him where he and his brother had pretended to be explorers, off finding new, exciting places and people. Gibbs also showed him his families graves; all of them with fresh flowers on them.

By the time Gibbs decided it was time to leave, Tony felt lighter than he had in a long time.

"Thank you," he said quietly, sitting down in the car. "That probably wasn't the easiest day for you. You're not really the open book sort."

Gibbs snorted. "Neither are you, but I keep forcing you wide open. Figured turnabout was fair play."

Tony chuckled softly and rested his head against the window, and let the rumbling of the engine flow over him.

"What do you feel like for dinner?" Gibbs asked eventually as he drove.

Tony shrugged. "I don't mind," he said quietly. To be honest, Gibbs could make him eat dry crackers and he still would have had one of the best days of his life.

Gibbs glanced over at him. "We can go out if you'd like? Or steak, cowboy style?"

Tony grinned. "Steak sounds great."

The remainder of the trip home was spent in companionable silence, if you ignored Tony's occasional singing along to songs on the radio. He mostly did it because he enjoyed Gibbs pretending to be annoyed while trying to hide a smile.

As the journey went on, Tony's heads throbbed more often, and eventually he wasn't quick enough at hiding a wince.

"Your head playing up?" Gibbs asked, though they both knew it wasn't a question.

"Yeah," Tony said sheepishly. "Not badly, just started now. Guess I'm more tired than I thought."

Gibbs frowned, but Tony jumped in before the vampire could berate himself for taking Tony out. "Hey," Tony said sharply. "I would have felt a hell of a lot worse if I'd stayed at home all day. We both know what I would have been thinking about, and either way my head would still be hurting, so don't go and beat yourself up about it."

Gibbs snorted. "I don't normally get told off like that."

Tony rolled his eyes. "That's because everyone thinks you're this big badass marine who'll rip them a new one if they step a toe out of line."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "You're saying I'm _not_ a badass marine who'll rip people a new one?"

"Nope," Tony said confidently. "You're a softie at heart."

"A what?" Gibbs asked incredulously, surprise etched across his face. "You wanna repeat that DiNozzo."

Tony wasn't fazed. "A softie," he repeated cheekily. "You can pretend all you want but I know that's what you are."

"And just how am I a 'softie'?" Gibbs quoted dangerously, keeping his eyes fixed firmly ahead.

"Oh, there are many reasons," Tony answered glibly. "But mainly because you never push me, and you sure as hell don't tell me to 'get over it'," Tony added quietly. "People think you're this hard ass dom, but you're not. Bet half of them are still in shock that you haven't claimed me."

Gibbs took one hand off the wheel and gripped his shoulder briefly. "I am a hard dom, but it isn't about whether you're a hard or soft dom; it's about whether you're a _good _dom or not. Doesn't make me a softie either," Gibbs added indignantly after a short pause, removing his hand.

Tony snorted and glanced over at Gibbs. "I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that one for now."

The look in Gibbs' eyes would have been frightening to anyone else except Tony. "Believe me," the vampire whispered softly, "When you're my sub, you won't think for even a second that I'm a 'softie'."

Tony swallowed and tried desperately to ignore how instead of frightening him, the words made him feel comforted in a way he hadn't felt for a while. As much as he hated to admit it, Peters had bought up a whole heap of shit that Tony had been shoving to the back of his mind and trying to ignore. Having it out in the open and hearing Gibbs say (again) that he didn't care put Tony at ease. He knew Gibbs would still keep him even if he couldn't submit; even if he was never truly comfortable living in a world with vampires. But, judging from his reaction to Gibbs previous words, he didn't think that he was going to have a problem submitting to Gibbs.

"We'll have to wait and see then won't we," Tony said hoarsely.

Gibbs just smirked and Tony had no doubt that Gibbs would be tough when he was his dom. Tony also had no doubt that it would be a _good_ tough; the kind of tough maybe he wouldn't always like, but needed. He'd had too much uncertainty in his life so far; too much not knowing where he should be or who he could trust. It was nice knowing what the boundaries were now, even though Tony knew he would always be pushing them.

It was late by the time they pulled into Gibbs' drive, and Tony shivered involuntarily as he stepped out of the car. "Getting colder now," he muttered pulling wrapping his arms around himself.

"We'll be getting snow soon," Gibbs commented, walking through the unlocked front door.

"Could never decide if I liked snow or not," Tony offered. "It was fun to play in when I was a kid and we were in a hotel or something," he continued at Gibbs' confused look, "But it wasn't so fun when I had to sleep under a bridge."

Gibbs' face clouded over. "Well, you won't have to worry about that this time round."

"I know," Tony said quietly. "I don't have to worry about a lot of things now, thanks to you."

Gibbs' face relaxed at the reminder that Tony was no longer living out on the streets; that he was safely under Gibbs' roof. "You don't," Gibbs agreed. "Come on, we'll get you your steak."

"Can I try and cook it?" Tony asked hesitantly. "This isn't me worrying about not being a sub," he hastened to add. "I'd feel bad if I was with _anyone_ and they were always cooking for me. I should be able to do basic things for myself."

Gibbs gazed at him for what felt like minutes, but was probably only a few seconds, before he nodded. "Alright."

Two charred pieces of meat later, and Tony was finally getting to eat. Turns out, Gibbs really was a "learn from your mistakes" kind of guy, and refused to tell Tony when the meat was burning, and Tony (despite being Italian) was really, _really _bad at noticing when the meat was done. Gibbs also refused to tell Tony how long it would take for them to cook; something about each piece of meat being different. Tony hadn't really been listening that intently, though now he wished he had been.

"You can cook next time," Tony decided once he had finished. "Just doesn't taste the same when I do it."

Gibbs snorted. "It was your first go at it; though I really don't want to know what you used to eat since apparently that was the first time you've used an oven."

Tony winced as Gibbs looked at him expectantly. He had hoped that Gibbs hadn't noticed that when he had said he didn't have a lot of experience in the kitchen that he had really meant none. Well, he'd used a toaster a couple of times when his parent's had been around, but they had never had enough time to teach him much more than that.

"Take-out places normally had some left overs to spare," Tony offered, though that hadn't been as often as he would have liked.

"Can't have been that often," Gibbs commented. "You were underweight as hell when I first got you."

Tony shrugged. "Eating was never as important as running."

"Eating is definitely important now," Gibbs said sternly grabbing Tony's plate and rinsing it off. "You ready for bed, or you wanna watch something first?"

Tony hesitated. He was tired, but he wasn't so exhausted that nightmares wouldn't stay away. He was reluctant to make himself vulnerable to them. He didn't want to have such a vivid reminder of what Peters had tried to do, especially when he probably would succeed in his dream.

"Movie," he answered firmly. "I'm not tired enough to sleep yet."

"Alright," Gibbs responded easily. "Go and pick one," he added when Tony didn't move. "I'm gonna finish up in here."

Tony nodded and walked through into the living room, purposely ignoring the way he wanted to keep looking over his shoulder now that Gibbs was gone. He knelt in front of the DVD collection, courtesy of Abby, and was pleased to see more had been added. He hadn't seen most, and before he knew it he had small collection in front of him.

"I don't think we're gonna have time to watch all of them tonight," Gibbs' amused voice said from behind him.

"I know," Tony shrugged sheepishly. "They're going on my 'to watch' list. You can pick one of them; I don't mind which."

Tony was kind of hoping Gibbs would pick one of the cartoon ones. As childish as it was, he had never gotten to watch things like that as a kid, and he wanted to experience some of the things he had missed out on. That, and the fact that he really wasn't in the mood for anything that he really had to pay attention to. He just wanted to be able to zone out without falling asleep.

Gibbs knelt down next to him and Tony moved closer before stopping himself once he realized what he was doing.

"You've never seen 'The Lion King'?" Gibbs asked holding up the cover.

Tony shook his head. "I don't think I've actually seen any of those Disney movies," Tony said quietly. "Always wanted to, but there was never enough time to go and hunt them down."

Gibbs sighed and wrapped his arm around Tony's shoulders briefly before standing and offering his hand. "We'll watch this one," he said firmly.

Tony let Gibbs pull him to his feet before falling back down onto the couch. Before long Gibbs was sitting next to him and the movie was playing.

"Kelly loved this movie," Gibbs offered quietly towards the end. "But we always had to skip the part where Mufasa dies; gave her nightmares."

Tony blinked sleepily, realizing he had almost been dozing on Gibbs' shoulder. "Did she like all the other ones?" he asked hesitantly.

Gibbs nodded. "Yeah. The Little Mermaid was her favorite though. I lost count of how many times I had to sit through it."

"Mermaids not your thing?" Tony asked with a grin.

Gibbs snorted. "Not particularly, no."

"So no secret fish fetish I ought to know about?" Tony teased. "You're not going to cover me in sushi or anything like that?"

Gibbs barked out a laugh and shook his head. "I'm not eating raw fish for starters," he said still grinning slightly, "And secondly, if I were going to cover you in anything, it sure as hell wouldn't be fish."

Tony chuckled. "Good to know," he said before yawning and letting his head drop back on Gibbs' shoulder. He decided he was getting better at the whole 'letting Gibbs take care of him' thing. Normally, he would be embarrassed to be sitting there on a couch falling asleep with his head on Gibbs' shoulder, but right now, he honestly couldn't care. He just felt safe and wanted. He let his eyes close, and let himself drift off to the sound of the Lion King; smiling slightly when he heard Simba and the other lion's triumphant roars.

* * *

Sorry for the cheesy Disney end; I couldn't help myself. I added a fair bit onto the beta'd version, so if there are any mistakes, they're mine alone, and feel free to point them out! Let me know what you think :]

A/N: I know everyone wants to know when Tony and Gibbs get together; it is in the next chapter so not too far away!


	11. Chapter 11

... I know that it's been just over two months since I updated - and it's only around 3000 words which is the shortest chapter yet. I am sorry for making people wait so long, and I know how frustrating it can be, especially as when it's a long fic and you have to reread the whole thing to remember what happened. That being said, this has been the most hectic semester at university I've ever had; I'm doing 5 papers (all science with labs) and I would like to get A's, so there has been almost no time to write :[ I promise I haven't given up on this story (and I won't give up on it) I have most of it mapped out, it's just finding time to write out the actual dialogue that's the problem. I'll try to update faster, but I won't make any promises as the semester is only getting busier! But I will have for months off after the 5th of November and that's when I'm planning on writing the most; I'll try to get another couple of chapters done before then though!

And I just want to thank everyone who's reviewed :] They do motivate me to keep writing, and make me feel guilty when I've taken so long to update which makes me find time to write! Also, I just wanted to add that this was the chapter that I planned a Gibbs/DiNozzo moment to be in right from the start; I don't let flames influence when events in my stories happen.

Also this is unbeta'd; I will send it to my beta in the morning and upload the beta'd version when she's done with it - so if you spot any glaring mistakes feel free to point them out. So once again, sorry for the huge delay, and I hope you enjoy!

* * *

"Jesus, DiNozzo, can you stop doing that!" Gibbs barked out as Tony walked into the living room with just a towel around his waist for umpteenth time that week.

"Stop what?" Tony asked. The fake innocent tone didn't fool Gibbs one bit.

"You know damn well what." Gibbs glared. "Put some clothes on or stay upstairs!"

Tony gave a long winded sigh. "Fine," he said turning back around. "I'll make my own fun upstairs, all by myself."

He couldn't help but grin when Gibbs flung himself against the couch and groaned. "Go away," Gibbs mumbled into his hands.

"Sure you don't wanna come?" Tony asked suggestively leaning against the doorframe.

Gibbs didn't even look up; he grabbed a cushion off the couch and threw it at Tony.

Tony took the hint and hightailed it out of the living room and went upstairs. This whole seducing Gibbs thing wasn't working as well as he thought it would. He was supposed to be damn near irresistible to dominant vampires, and yet Gibbs wouldn't act. Hell, he had practically been flouncing around naked the past week and Gibbs hadn't even kissed him. Tony knew Gibbs wasn't rejecting his advances because he didn't want Tony; he was rejecting them because he thought Tony was only trying to sleep within because of what had happened with Peters. Of course there was some truth to that, but Tony knew that regardless of Peters he would have always wanted to have sex with Gibbs on some level to stop other dominants being so attracted to him. But now Tony was realising that what had happened with Peters had made him actually consider being with Gibbs intimately in a way he hadn't before, and he was realising that he actually _wanted _to be with Gibbs.

The only problem now was convincing Gibbs. Tony didn't doubt that his inexperience would stop Gibbs from going fast with him, but he just needed Gibbs do be doing _something _with him.

Tony dropped the towel, slipped into sweat pants and slid into bed before grabbing his laptop and switching it on. Abby had introduced him to the wonders of the internet and had been subtly (not) hinting about the wonders of online porn ever since. Now seemed as good a time as any to educate himself; he might as well get a visual idea of what gay sex was like before actually attempting it with Gibbs.

It took him all of 36 seconds to find a website suited to his current needs; he was given two options when he entered it: vampire or human. As much as Tony wanted to go into the human section, it probably wouldn't be anywhere near as useful as the vampire section. Steeling himself, Tony clicked 'vampire' and was presented with numerous categories and movies. He didn't bother browsing; he just clicked on the most popular video and settled back down to watch.

Big mistake. Apparently the most popular online vampire porno really, _really_, didn't cater to the average inexperienced human's tastes. Tony watched in morbid fascination as the young human was repeatedly fucked and bitten. He was a good actor, Tony could give him that; the young man acted as though he was enjoying every second of it, groaning convincingly whenever he was bitten. Tony was so shocked by what he was watching that he wasn't even hard; in fact he was beyond freaked out. Watching the movie was like watching his worst fears play out right in front of him. Vampires had always taunted him and the people he was travelling with, with anecdotes of what exactly would happen to them when they were captured; they would tell them how they'd be forced to service as many vampires as their _master _wanted and there wouldn't be anything they could do.

Tony knew what he was watching was completely consensual; it was simply designed to cater to the darker desires of dominant vampires, and potentially the more hard-core subs, but that didn't stop him from feeling ill at the sight of it. Maybe he should have clicked on 'human' after all.

Tony knew that Gibbs would never put him in a situation like this even if he wanted it. The dominant vampire was too possessive to be able to watch other vampires touch him, let alone have sex with him. The thought didn't really do much to make him feel better; obviously there were dominant vampires who liked having a sub like the young man onscreen, and that was what always bothered him. He knew that dominant vampires wanted him, that wasn't too bad; it was the thought that they could be having these sorts of fantasies about him that got to him the most.

It was kind of like watching a train wreck, Tony thought; he just couldn't look away no matter how bad it got. He started to wonder how much blood this sub had in his body; it seemed like everyone in the film was coated in it – he was surprised that the young man hadn't passed out.

Tony wasn't turned on at all; not even a little. In fact he was starting to feel slightly ill. He was so absorbed in watching the film (and trying not to be sick) that he didn't even notice Gibbs open the door to his room.

"Jesus Christ, DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked out striding across the room and slamming the laptop shut. "Why the fuck are you watching that?"

Gibbs looked positively livid and Tony suddenly had the irrational fear that maybe Gibbs saw him watching other vampires having sex as cheating of some kind.

"I was preparing myself," Tony answered weakly glancing up at Gibbs. "I don't know anything about…" Tony hesitated. "Sex," he finished lamely.

Gibbs looked anything but placated by Tony's answer. "Preparing yourself," he repeated incredulously. "For what? Being treated like that?" Gibbs asked gesturing at the laptop. "You think that's what it's gonna be like?"

"No," Tony said quickly. "I know you would _never _treat me like that!"

"Then how in the hell was watching that helping you _prepare_?" Gibbs quoted back at him.

"I didn't know what it was," Tony defended indignantly. "I just clicked vampire and looked at the most popular one!"

Gibbs sighed in exasperation. "If you wanted to explore bloody porn websites, why couldn't you have just looked at human shit? The mechanics of it are no different, I promise," Gibbs added wryly.

Tony groaned. "I know," Tony said softly. "But you're a vampire, and I thought that if there had to be two distinct sections in websites then there must be something you do different."

"Aside from biting; there's not," Gibbs said shortly. "You're watching online _porn_, Tony; most of it's not designed to be realistic. It's fantasies that people wouldn't normally act out in reality."

"I should hope so," Tony said weakly glancing back at the laptop. "This wasn't exactly the ending I had in mind when I turned that on," he shrugged. "Was imagining some eye opening experience, not…that."

"Not the one thing you're most terrified of," Gibbs supplied helpfully.

Tony glared. "Not helping," he bit out. "And I wouldn't have to be worried about that if you'd just get on with things," he added meaningfully.

"Oh no," Gibbs said, standing abruptly. "We're not getting into this again."

"Why not?" Tony argued, "How much longer are you planning on drawing this out? Notice I said _you_ drawing this out, as in _not me_ drawing this out."

For a moment it seemed like Gibbs was just going to walk out. He'd turned away from Tony, and looked about two seconds from bolting out the door.

"I'm not trying to _draw it out_," Gibbs said turning back around in frustration. "But we're not jumping into this because of Peters!"

"It's not because of Peters," Tony snapped back, equally frustrated.

"The hell it's not," Gibbs growled. "You've been here almost over a year, Tony! Pretty damn coincidental that it's _now _that you want things to move along, huh?"

"It's not coincidental at all," Tony shot back. "I've just been thinking about everything I'd been ignoring for the past couple of months! Jesus, Gibbs, I'm not saying let's jump into bed, but I want more than what we've got."

"What's wrong with what we've got?" Gibbs asked stubbornly crossing his arms.

Tony laughed in exasperation. "Do you even want me to be your mate?" he asked angrily. "Is this what this is all about? You've changed your mind and you just don't want to hurt me?"

The look on Gibbs' face was priceless; Tony only wished he had managed to snap a picture before it faded. Gibbs stalked over and gently pushed Tony down and leaned over. "I would _never_ change my mind about that."

Tony let Gibbs push him down without hesitating. "Then what's wrong? I'm not doing this because of Peter's. Yeah, I don't want anything like that to happen again, and knowing that sex is gonna stop that is always going to make me want it. But that's not the only reason I want it; not anymore."

Gibbs stared at him, and Tony stared right back. "You've seemed to have turned right around," Gibbs muttered wryly. "You weren't nearly this eager before."

"I was young and naïve," Tony said with a grin. "And not as horny."

Gibbs snorted. "I'll bet," he said shifting back slightly. Tony grabbed his shoulder and held him in place.

"So?" Tony asked expectantly.

Gibbs stared, and Tony could tell he was looking for any sign that Tony was being influenced by what had happened with Peters. Eventually, Gibbs' face relaxed and he sighed. "We're not jumping straight into sex," he warned, "Peters or not, you still have no experience with that."

If Gibbs was expecting any objections, he was wrong. Tony knew he had just won a big battle; he wasn't about to push it and not get anything. He took a brief moment to enjoy the look of surprise on the vampire's face as he pulled him down and kissed him.

Tony may not have had sex, but he knew how to kiss, and he was determined to show that to Gibbs. Gibbs' lips were dry and firm against his; completely different to the soft, pliant lips of the girls he had kissed previously. He cautiously opened his mouth and ran his tongue over Gibbs' bottom lip, hoping to coax the vampire into participating. Apparently Gibbs had only been waiting until he was sure Tony was comfortable before acting; as soon as Tony's tongue touched him mouth he acted.

Gibbs leaned forward pressing Tony into the mattress and forcefully took control of the kiss. Tony groaned when he felt Gibbs open his mouth, and he let Gibbs explore without hesitation. It almost felt like he was floating, Tony thought absently as Gibbs thoroughly mapped out his mouth. Each time Gibbs' tongue caressed his own Tony couldn't help but shiver, which only served to make him more aware of Gibbs' body pressing into his own.

Determined not to be outdone, Tony did some exploring of his own, trying to learn what made the vampire react. He was pleased when Gibbs let him, knowing full well that had Gibbs wanted to, he could have kept full control of the kiss. Though he was letting Tony have some control, Gibbs still made it clear who the boss really was; his fingers were tangled roughly in Tony's hair, tugging lightly and every now and then he'd grind into Tony. Gibbs was making it pretty clear that although he wasn't going to rush into anything, now that Tony had agreed to start the physical side of their relationship, they wouldn't be going back to how things used to be. To be honest, Tony was relieved; he didn't want to go back to how things were, and he was relieved that Gibbs wasn't going to let that happen. It was nice to know that the hard first step was out of the way and that Gibbs would be controlling the pace of the relationship from now on. He'd been well aware that Gibbs had been letting him work things out on his own this first year, but now that Tony had effectively said he wanted to be Gibbs' mate in all senses of the word, Gibbs was taking back the control he'd relinquished to Tony.

If he was really honest with himself, Tony was thoroughly enjoying the way Gibbs was holding him down. If anything, that cemented the fact he was submissive. But accepting that sure as hell didn't mean Tony was going to sit there and let Gibbs have all the fun. He grinned into the kiss; Gibbs was going to have to _work_ if he wanted Tony to lie there pliantly. He hooked a leg around Gibbs' and quickly twisted them over before rolling his hips, pressing down. Gibbs grunted, surprised, as he was rolled over, and Tony grabbed the opportunity kiss his way down the vampire's neck.

Tony was pleased to find that he wasn't having any problems with the feeling of another man's arousal pressed against his own. If anything, he was surprised by how much he was enjoying it. He gasped into Gibbs' neck as the vampire forced his hips up roughly, the movement sending waves of pleasure through Tony.

"Fuck," he groaned as Gibbs continued the action. If they kept going like this he was going to come in his pants, which when he managed to get enough brain cells to work together and think about it, was probably exactly what Gibbs wanted him to do.

Gibbs chuckled lowly, and Tony raised his head to glare at him before grinding downwards, matching Gibbs' upward thrusts. He was pleased when he felt Gibbs' hands tighten on his hips; if he was going to come in his pants like a teenager, then he was determined Gibbs was coming right along with him.

Tony had little doubt that if Gibbs wanted to, he could hold off coming for hours, but he hoped the vampire would be nice enough to not damage his pride during their first physical encounter together. He could already tell he was close; heat was pooling in his groin and he knew it wouldn't take much to send him over the edge. Gibbs apparently knew this too; he pressed his mouth against Tony's throat and just _grazed _his teeth across the skin. The spike of sensation that arose from that one simple action was enough to send Tony tumbling over; he bit his lip as every nerve in his body lit up and waves of pleasure passed over him. He was only just coherent enough to feel Gibbs tense beneath him, his hips jerking and fingers tensing.

"Fuck," Tony groaned, rolling off Gibbs and exhaling heavily. "Wow."

Gibbs snorted rolled onto his side, looking down at him. "You always this eloquent?" he asked, running his fingers through Tony's hair.

Tony sighed and closed his eyes. "I'm the submissive one, aren't I?" he asked rhetorically. "I get to wallow here in post orgasmic bliss while you have to be coherent and take care of me in my vulnerable state."

Gibbs laughed abruptly. "_That_ wasn't being submissive," he pointed out amused.

Tony shrugged. "I'm learning. Besides, the end result was the same wasn't it?" he asked glancing pointedly at Gibbs' groin.

Gibbs looked at him seriously. "Believe me," he said softly, "the end result will _not_ be the same after you submit properly."

Tony shivered under Gibbs' gaze. He really couldn't imagine how you could feel any different – an orgasm was an orgasm after all. But, Tony supposed he should take Gibbs at his word; the vampire knew more about the dynamics of their relationship, and their consequences, than he did.

They lay there in silence; Tony relaxing as Gibbs continued to run his fingers through his hair, until eventually the need to clean up became too much.

Sighing, Gibbs sat up. "You should go shower," he suggested. "Alone," he added when Tony opened his mouth to talk.

Tony frowned. "Why?" he asked, ignoring the plaintive tone his voice took.

"Because I think you should," Gibbs said with a smirk. "There's plenty of time for showers together. Besides, knowing you, you're going to want a long one and I want to get dinner started. Abby and Ducky eating with us tonight, remember?"

Tony glanced over at the clock and winced. "Yeah, I remember," he muttered. "Fine, I'll go, but this better be a pretty spectacular dinner," he warned.

"The best you've ever eaten," Gibbs answered deadpanned.

Tony glared before getting up and walking to the door, picking up his damp towel from earlier. "You know you're not funny, right?" he said looking over his shoulder at Gibbs.

"No, you just don't think I'm funny 'cause subtlety is lost on you, DiNozzo," Gibbs smirked.

Tony frowned before grinning wickedly. "Whatever," he said before grabbing his sweatpants and yanking them off. He flung them at Gibbs' face before the vampire had much of a chance to appreciate the fact that he'd just seen him naked, and darted across to the bathroom and locked the door.

Thankfully Gibbs really didn't have time for any type of retaliation, so Tony figured he was safe for now, though Tony knew that that little stunt wouldn't go unpunished.

He showered quickly and as much as Tony had wanted to get cleaned up _with _Gibbs, he was a little glad Gibbs had told him to shower alone. It was nice to be able to collect his thoughts without being distracted by Gibbs.

There were definitely no regrets, Tony decided once he'd finished his shower. And he still didn't feel like he had pressured himself into anything because of Peters. In the end he had done it for himself and that was what mattered.


End file.
